feature photo: Roberto Cifarelli
The bassist from LA Billy Mohler has made quite a name for himself as a sideman; we covered his work with trumpet maestro Dan Rosenboom on several occasions but his collaboration credits go much further than that: Ringo Starr, Lee Scratch Perry, Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Nile Rodgers, Macy Gray, Sia, Mavis Staples, Kelly Clarkson, Linda Perry, Steven Tyler, Katy Perry and many more.
More recently, Mohler’s been establishing himself as a bandleader and composer, having put out four studio albums in the jazz vein since 2019. His fifth one, released in April 2026, shows what he’s capable of outside the studio. Live In Europe (from Dutch-based Dox Records) captures two stops during Mohler’s European tour back in the spring of 2025.
Mohler put together an impressive, Euro-American quartet for this tour, starting with Italian saxophonist Francesco Bigoni, wisely referred by Chris Speed. Trumpet player Hermon Mehari is from America but has made himself part of the French and the wider European scene. The much celebrated drummer Nate Wood is out of New York City. Live In Europe culls a couple of performances in Italy and four more in the Netherlands, playing all Mohler originals and recorded with studio-like clarity.
Recorded well, yes, but more importantly, played well. Mohler has a long-running rapport with Wood, and it comes through with this rhythm section playing as an intuitively tight unit. However, Mohler quickly found affinity with Mehari and Bigoni, who in turn, connected well with each other. That’s especially important since the combo lacks a chordal instrument. Parts of this records recall the trumpet/sax/bass/drums unit led by another bassist — William Parker– back in the 2000s, with its deep fealty to jazz tradition even as they are stretching the music form toward harmonic freedom with a naturally-sounding improvisational spirit.
“Adaptation” might be a relatively straightforward blues form at its core, but both Mehari and Bigoni both begin their solos using the blues as the starting point and move thoughtfully into the modern — almost avant — realm by the time they’re finished. “Reflection” is introspective as the title suggests, and Mehrai and Bigoni harmonize attractively around each other.
Mohler builds “Deconstruction” from a groove-laden bass riff that’s put smack into the center of the song and the horns provide the punch; Bigoni plays so airy and capriciously while Mehari is fluid and at times, funky.
A brief bass feature “Eternal” leads straight into another bass-centered piece, the hard groover “Ultraviolet,” where Mohler puts together a springy, irresistible bass line and the Mehari/Bigoni deliver the right harmonic counterpoint to it. “Perseverance” begins with a lissome trumpet recital, followed by Mohler’s hypnotic circular figure over which the two horn plays create side-by-side, unhurried and relaxed in their approach.
Having established himself as a top-flight session player, bandleader and composer, Billy Mohler reveals that all of those talents translates well onto the road. Pick up Live In Europe today, from Bandcamp.
- Billy Mohler – ‘Live In Europe’ (2026) - April 21, 2026
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- The Outskirts – ‘Orbital’ (2026) - April 15, 2026
