Released seven months ago, Conversation #1: Condensed was the best recording to date associated with the former Kansas City resident Hermon Mehari. Yet the estimable album merely foreshadowed the brilliance of the miniature masterpiece Arc Fiction. Issued by the French collective Mirr in October, the trumpeter’s exquisite duets with pianist Alessandro Lanzoni are superior European chamber jazz.
Had more reverb been applied, the recording would sound like a laudatory addition to the ECM Records catalog. If the cover art was splashed with primary colors, Arc Fiction would make for a notable ACT Music release. The prominent labels would surely be pleased to share Mehari’s artistic breakthrough. In finding a way to best exploit his fragile sound, Mehari turned a possible weakness into a formidable strength. The trumpeter’s tone on Arc Fiction express his thoughts and concepts with grace and eloquence. Lanzoni matches Mehari’s sensitivity.
The duo sets the dynamic tone at the opening of the first track "Savannah". Lanzoni dices his piano’s innards like an innovative chef while Mehari slips and slides like a child frolicking on ice. Mehari’s original composition "Dance Cathartic" is so immediately engaging it might be mistaken for a Chick Corea standard. Mehari has made valuable music for more than a decade. With the spartan Arc Fiction and Conversation #1: Condensed, he’s found his true métier.