Hermon Mehari is an award-winning American jazz trumpeter based in Paris, France. Before going solo, he was a founding member of the group Diverse as well as an in-demand sideman due to his musical diversity, as the range of artists he's toured and worked with attests: Bobby Watson, Kevin Morby, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Blitz The Ambassador, Hugo LX, Jaleel Shaw, Making Movies, Dj Spinna, and many more. Mehari began playing trumpet in the seventh grade and immediately fell in love. He became intensely studious on the instrument, and took improvisation courses. While still in conservatory in Kansas City, Mehari won the 2008 National Trumpet Competition and placed second in the International Trumpet Guild competition in Sydney, Australia. He was semifinalist in the 2014 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition, and a year later he won the Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Competition. Mehari's latest work Asmara explores his Eritrean heritage through the use of elements of traditional Eritrean melodies, rhythms and harmonies. Mehari's debut solo album, Bleu, was released in 2017. It included pianist Aaron Parks, Logan Richardson, on alto saxophone, vibraphonist Peter Schlamb, Ryan J. Lee on drums, and Rick Rosato on bass. In addition to critical acclaim, the album also placed high on the jazz charts. His second album, A Change for the Dreamlike, took on a more personal tone as it was recorded during "le confinement" in a barn in the French countryside.