John Hargett

About John

Born and raised in Charlotte, NC, Hargett took to the drumset at the age of 13, just shortly after joining his middle school Band's percussion section. Hargett continued to study percussion throughout high school performing drumset in the school's jazz band, performing in the percussion section of the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, among others. Around this time, Hargett began forming his own bands with friends outside of school, writing original material and performing around the greater Charlotte area with frequency as well as beginning to teach drumset to other youth in the area. 

Upon graduating from high school, he went on to study percussion under the direction of Rob Falvo, Rick Dilling, and Byron Hedgepeth at Appalachian State University and majored in Music Industry Studies at the Hayes School of Music earning a Bachelor of Science in 2018. Hargett performed in Appalachian's Jazz Ensemble I & II, Percussion Ensemble, and Concert Band, as well as small group ensembles. Most notably touring Italy in 2015 with ASU's Jazz Ensemble I, led by Prof. Todd Wright, as well as sharing the stage with the likes of players like legendary jazz organist, Tony Monaco, and world-renowned trombonist/composer/arranger, John Fedchock. 

It was around this time that he founded his own 5-piece jazz fusion project, Unaka Prong, known colloquially as, Unaka. They released 4 full-length original records and have toured up and down the east coast supporting acts like Moon Taxi, Dumpstaphunk, Jonathon Scales Fourchestra, Tauk, Toubab Krewe, Col. Bruce Hampton, and more. More recently, Hargett has been touring on and off with the soul rock artist, Abby Bryant, supporting names like Lucinda Williams, Margo Price, and Railroad Earth, and most recently, Hargett put together the John Hargett Trio, consisting of a rotating cast of local players performing jazz in lounge and event settings regionally. Hargett currently teaches all styles and genres to students out of his home practice space in North Durham.