Carte blanche à Hermon Mehari

| Jazz, compositions

Hermon Mehari has established himself in recent years as one of the most distinctive voices on the international jazz trumpet scene. Winner of the Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Competition (2015) and a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition (2014), he now leads an active career between Europe and the United States, both as a leader and a sideman.

Originally from Kansas City, he has built a strong reputation alongside top musicians, performing with artists such as Jaleel Shaw, Bobby Watson, Seamus Blake, Randy Brecker, Hubert Laws, David Linx, Tony Tixier, Sélène Saint-Aimé, and Blitz the Ambassador. As a founding member of the group Diverse, he contributed to their debut album, which reached the Top 40 of the Jazzweek Radio Chart.

Now based in France, Hermon Mehari has received significant recognition from the jazz community: Jazz Magazine named him Foreign Artist of the Year (2022), Group of the Year with No(w) Beauty (2023), and Trumpeter of the Year (2024).

His discography as a leader reflects a singular, open, and deeply personal musical world. With Asmara (Komos), he explores his Eritrean roots through a repertoire inspired by the harmonies, rhythms, and melodies of Eritrea, in a deeply expressive project shaped by memory and sound research, alongside Peter Schlamb, Luca Fattorini, and Gautier Garrigue, with special guest, the renowned Eritrean singer Faytinga.

In 2020, he continued this path with A Change For the Dreamlike (MiRR), a more introspective album written and recorded during the lockdown in the French countryside, featuring Tony Tixier, Ryan J. Lee, Kae Dilla, DeAndre Manning, Hugo LX, and several close collaborators.

First gaining recognition in 2017 with Bleu, an acclaimed debut album featuring Aaron Parks and Logan Richardson, Hermon Mehari has since developed a demanding and vibrant musical voice at the crossroads of contemporary jazz, Afro-diasporic influences, and a strong sense of artistic freedom.

Hermon Mehari: trumpet
Nelson Veras: guitar
Yoni Zelnik: double bass
Jesus Vega: drums