Jazz Beat: Diverse, at Take Five Coffee + Bar

Four years ago, the jazz group Diverse booked some space in a little coffee shop in Leawood for a concert to raise funds for a trip to Paris. The jazz-loving owners, Lori and Doug Chandler, cleared tables and chairs away from the front windows to create a “stage.” They discovered that the acoustics were magnificent. Other jazz bands started calling, asking if they could play there, too, and Take Five Coffee + Bar developed into a suburban jazz mecca. Sunday, Diverse — with Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Ben Leifer on bass and Ryan Lee on drums — ushers in the closing of this location with a night of exuberant jazz. Don’t worry — next month, Take Five reopens in a new, larger space to better serve the jazz community. Take this opportunity to celebrate the transition.