This is the second project Ko and I have done together, a sort of sequel to 2018's Benign Strangers. The pandemic put a monkey-wrench into our collaboration for a few years there, and I'm glad we're back with The Word. Most of the five tunes of mine that we recorded are new; "Groove for Clyde" goes back a few years though, and is a tribute to the late Clyde Kerr, Jr., the man who led me into this jazz musician's life, back in New Orleans. I wrote the opening riff of "The Word" noodling around during a wedding ceremony (I had to play very quietly). "Maybe" reflects my Brazilian influence, and my desire to write at least one Chico Buarque song. "Lord and Master" and "Wormcast" are fun with triplet subdivisions. S I really enjoy the juxtaposition of my tunes with Ko's on this project. His are more positive and open, in contrast to my meticulous darkness. S Here's to many more collaborations. This is the latest word, but it won't be the last!-Davy Mooney

One of the most valuable gifts of travel is to gain the friendship of those you meet from other cultures. For a musician, this is fundamental in widening a net of collaborators and musical inspiration. The recent pandemic shut down the populace's normal travel patterns, disrupting these exchanges. On his new recording, Way Back, guitarist Davy Mooney celebrates the return of international travel and his renewed musical partnership with his collaborators in Brazil. Jazz is a language that is spoken all over the world. Speaking it is a way for Davy Mooney to find a connection in other places and with other people. Traveling back to his second home in Brazil, Mooney has recorded a fantastic album of unique original music on Way Back.

Guitarist/composer Davy Mooney knows just how special these experiences are and wanted to capture the essence of their magic on his new recording, Live at National Sawdust. On the recording, Mooney brings together his incredible Hope of Home band, featuring saxophonist John Ellis, pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Brian Blade, to play old and new material for a receptive group of listeners at Brooklyn's National Sawdust and to conjure a fabulously warm and heartfelt performance that can be revisited over and over. // Mooney and the Hope of Home Band assembled at National Sawdust on January 27, 2020 with engineer Sascha von Oertzen. Of course, live recordings have their challenges. The performers have to consider the audience and can not just start over again. But that is precisely why live recordings can be amazing. The emphasis on being in the moment supercedes the idea of perfection, typically producing compelling performances. // The pieces that Mooney brought to record were a mixture of staple pieces from his repertoire going back for nearly 15 years and new pieces that were written with the promise of this recording. Some of the older pieces are rarities that the guitarist brought out from his first recordings from 2009, Astoriano and Last Train Home, a duo album with John Pizzarelli.

2017 release. Guitarist Davy Mooney left his home of New Orleans in 2005 as Hurricane Katrina loomed. He left his newly acquired house and eventually settled into life away, mainly off and on, for six years in the jazz capital of the world, New York City. In 2013, Mooney moved back with his wife, balancing the anxiety of leaving New York and getting acclimated once again with his hometown. His album Hope of Home showcases Mooney's efforts to integrate his New York and New Orleans personalities in a moving, musical fashion. It was during his time in New York that Mooney recorded Perrier Street with an incredible cast of musicians. The record was very well planned and highly structured, performed ably; mainly by musicians with ties to New Orleans, including drummer Brian Blade, pianist Jon Cowherd and saxophonist John Ellis. Along with their connections to the South, these musicians are all ambitious and eclectic in their musical scope. All had gone through a similar developmental process as Mooney (the jazz programs of Loyola and settling in New York), not to mention paying their dues with many of the same musicians along the way. For Hope of Home, Mooney insisted on keeping this ensemble, which also included bassist Matt Clohesy. Blade's The Fellowship Band had long been a touchstone for Mooney's own musical development, so having Blade and core band member Cowherd on his recording was important to Mooney and certainly worth the wait. It was important to preserve the essence of the continuity between the two scenes, knowing that they connect and you can still go home.