Gregoire Maret knows that most bands aren't used to performing with his instrument of choice: the harmonica.
"Not many bands have played with harmonica players before so it gave me much ground to explore," Maret said. "As a jazz musician, I could adapt to the situations and always find a way to play and make it as beautiful as I could."
Maret, a prominent harmonica player, will perform for free at 8 p.m. tonight in Esber Recital Hall, Music Building I with a jazz band featuring Ronnie Burrage.
Maret, who recently got off tour with Herbie Hancock and has played with Pat Metheny and others, said the harmonica isn't the most prominently used instrument in jazz, but that's helped him to develop his own style.
Maret said his style was influenced initially by the harmonica playing of Stevie Wonder and Toots Thielman.
"I met with Toots Thielman, who is a legend in terms of jazz harmonica, and he told me 'I like your playing, but you should find your own style,' because it was so similar to his," Maret said. "That really helped show me the way to go and what was possible."
The Swiss-born musician said his studies in the United States and travels throughout the world playing with many stylistically disparate artists have helped shape and enhance his style as well.
"I'm from Europe so I have a slightly different view of things than if I just grew up and studied in America," Maret said. "It's widened my range and made me more open-minded to cultures and made me take in a lot of information."
Maret added he tries to vary his style, so he's not always playing straight jazz.
Burrage, who organized the event along with the Penn State Jazz Club, teaches INART 297E (Worlds Closer) and said these kinds of culturally diverse artistic visions are what his class is all about.
The class studies art, music and literature from different parts of the world and examines the similarities between cultures and communities, he added.
"I've been on U.S. State Department tours where we performed in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and many places in India, and while there we would talk to the local musicians about styles and the common denominator of the rhythms and harmonies we used," Burrage, an art instructor, said.
Burrage -- who will perform percussion at the concert and wrote many of the pieces that will be played -- met Maret while substitute teaching at The New School in New York about 10 years ago and was the first person to take the young musician on the road. The two will reunite tonight and play alongside pianist Delmar Brown, guitarist Erik Sayles and bassist Michael Dougherty (graduate-biochemistry).
