BILLY MOHLER
On October 13, GRAMMY-nominated bassist Billy Mohler will release Ultraviolet via Dayna Stephen’s Contagious Music label. As his most probing release to date, Ultraviolet is Mohler’s third album capturing the evolving vernacular of his formidable quartet with trumpeter Shane Endsley, drummer Nate Wood and reedist Chris Speed.
Mohler creates “jazz music that, despite the seriousness and sincerity of the craft, manages to remain engaging and–yes–fun.” (Downbeat Magazine.) The mixture of Mohler’s pop sensibilities, honed as a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles studio scene, meshed with a forward exploration and musical curiosity shaped by his tenure at the Thelonious Monk Institute under luminaries Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.
“Herbie and Wayne exude artistry at its highest level. Their openness to being in the moment is something that’s stuck with me,” Mohler said. “And their willingness to create those moments is also something that had a profound effect on me.”
Whereas Mohler’s previous album, Anatomy, spoke to the feelings and events of the pandemic and global shutdown, Ultraviolet sounds out formative experiences that now shape Mohler as a human and as a musician. Coming of age in the 80s and 90s in Laguna Beach, California, Mohler’s first passions were surfing and, eventually, skateboarding – a sport that remains a present-day source of inspiration. Long before skateparks, Mohler and his friends used their creativity to negotiate obstacles enroute to their destination.
“So many elements in skating relate to improvisation,” Mohler said. “Everyone has a different perspective – a unique way they see a line or a way to approach a trick. Like improvising, decisions are made intuitively based upon the feeling of that moment.”
The album’s title piece, “Ultraviolet,” parallels these ideas as trumpeter Endsley and saxophonist Speed revel in the groove maneuvers of bassist Mohler and drummer Wood.
“I’ve always composed staring with a bass line,” Mohler also said. “I like music to be emotionally driven and to allow melody and harmony to change around a central idea. With the groove of a given piece, I can shape and guide the storyline one note at a time.”
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