About Me
Jason Hemmens discovered his life's purpose at the age of ten, when he wrote his first song. Even then, he knew that music was his calling, and he would never work in any other field. He followed every path music opened to him, from joining his school choir in fifth grade, to rapping for his duo “The Def Poet Society." As a teenager growing up in Maine, Jason gained local celebrity status while performing with his family band “Hemmens,†and in high school, he joined "The Mount View Chamber Singers," an elite high school choir. During this time, he continued honing his songwriting skills. When he was twelve, some troublemaking at school led him to pick up his older brother's harmonica, and he never looked back, first conquering blues harp, then moving on to tenor and alto saxophone when he was sixteen. He gained experience from jamming with various Blues Artists who passed through town including Shemekia Copeland, Bernard Allison Jr. and Phillip Walker.Shortly after graduating high school, Hemmens moved to Louisiana, and enrolled in the Jazz Studies Program at the University of New Orleans. It was at this time that he really began to develop his skills as a multi instrumentalist/vocalist. He performed with Ellis Marsalis, and studied with some of music's legends, including Terrance Blanchard and Harold Battiste, . He worked his way through college playing gigs on Bourbon Street, where he learned the reality of music in all its many forms.After graduating from UNO, Jason moved to Los Angeles, California where he currently resides. In the swarm of musicians finding their way through Hollywood, Jason sets himself apart as a diverse player with a passion for his work, and an easy refined style all his own. He is making a name for himself as an in-demand performer and studio musician. As a member of the Howl at the Moon house band in Hollywood, Hemmens has performed with Stevie Wonder, members of Guns N’ Roses, and Poison, to name a few…Jason is a true multi-instrumentalist, fluent on Saxophone, Harmonica, Piano, and Bass as well as being an accomplished Vocalist. In 2007, Hemmens performed at the Java Jazz Festival with Indonesian Legend Dwiki Dharmawan and Los Angeles based group “Shapes." Jason follows in the footsteps of Prince and Stevie Wonder, aiming to show-case his versatility on his self-penned albums, and to collaborate with many talented artists in session and stage work in future.
