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Todd Mosby: Land Of Enchantment
by George W. Harris • October 12, 2023 • 0 Comments
No clutter on these frets…
Guitarist Todd Mosby creates modern smooth sounds with a mix and match team that includes Vinnie Colaiuta/dr, Dapo Torimoro/p and Rhonda Smith/b. At times, there’s an almost Steely Dan feel to the tunes, as on the folksy and clever “Georgia’s World” with Laua Vall’s voice while the team gets funky around Smith’s bass line on “Place In The Sun’.
Mosby has a George Benson feel to his tone and licks as he breezes on ”Moonrise Samba” and a beautiful sound for “A Distant Light”. He plays a bluesy read of “Norwegian Wood” with an acoustic Imrat guitar, and gives a James Taylorish feel to the classic “By The Time I Get To Phoenix’. - George Harris, Jazz Weekly
NEW AGE MUSIC GUIDE REVIE
Todd Mosby – Land Of Enchantment
By BT Fasmer - May 12, 2023 25
“Wherever one goes in the Southwest, one encounters magic, strength, and beauty,” Ansel Adams wrote. Inspired by the same landscape – From jazz, jazz fusion and samba to Bossa-nova and folk-rock, the album’s genre defying style makes sure that there is something here for everyone. I enjoy how the sound seems to represent the landscape, from the baking A Place in the Sun to the reflective By The Time I Get To Phoenix. There is a lot to discover in-between with almost limitless replay value. Land of Enchantment has magic enough for several releases. Stylish, playful and cool, the album underlines the deep connection between geography, art and culture.
Land of Enchantment will be released on July 7, 2023.
Todd Mosby has created a new musical syntax integrating Indian classical music and Western music. His 13-year study of traditional North Indian music with his neighbor and guru-ji Ustadt Imrat Khan led to the development of acoustic and electric versions of the Imratguitar, a hybrid sitar-guitar. His most recent albums are On Eagle Mountain (2016), Open Waters (2019) and Aerial Views (2020).
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TODD MOSBY
Growing up in Missouri near St. Louis, how old were you when you started to play jazz guitar and what was most helpful in your personal development as a guitarist?
I first started playing/studying Jazz guitar my first year at college in Salt Lake City, Utah when I was 18. There was a great music program there which was moving to Grove Music school in LA. the next year. I decided to go to Berklee College of Music for the next three years to continue my studies in earnest. It was a great experience seeing so many great Jazz musicians perform live. It had a lasting impact. Bill Evans, Joe Pass, Pet Metheny, Wether Report, Pat Martino, Kenny Burrell, Mike Stern were all people i would go out and see perform live in small clubs or concert halls.
It appears that you have Los Angeles connections. Am I correct?
Yes, in 2016 I was in LA for a music conference and met veteran producer Jeffrey Weber (Emily Remler, David Benoit, Freddie Hubbard, Tom Scott, Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, Kenny Burrell, McCoy Tyner) thru a friend. We began initial talks for a possible record at that time. I had just completed my first album Eagle Mountain with Will Ackerman/Tom Eaton producing. After a successful run of three albums (2016-2021), I wanted to move my music and recordings in a new direction. This is when I re-connected with Jeff Weber and in May of 2022, we began weekly conversations on scope of the project, tune selection, instrumentation, band members, coordination, etc. A great producer has access to great musicians. Jeff had this and more. He has been with his team for over 20 years. He produced some of my favorite jazz recordings including the last and best album of Emily Remler, This Is Me. In July, the band was finalized with some of my heroes that Jeff uses including Tom Scott, Vinnie Colaiuta and Rhonda Smith. He produced two of Tom Scotts records which are on his label and received Grammy nominations. All of the players on Jeffs call list have a long history with him.
Did you study with any well-known musical personalities, or are you self-taught?
I have been mentored and studied my whole life. Ultimately, it is up the individual to absorb, apply, research and discover insights thru time spent on your instrument. In that sense everyone is self-taught. Formal studies began at Westminster College in salt Lake City for one year and then at Berklee College of Music in Boston for three years. Years later I finished with an MM in Composition in St. Louis at Webster University. In between I had private teachers, all notable. Here is a list: Private Studies & Mentors Include: Guitar - Mike Stern, Jim Kelly, Rob Block, Rick Haydon, Fareed Haque; Improvisation - Gary Burton, Ed Tomasi, Imrat Khan; Composition - Dr. Roland Jordan, Orchestration - Ben Newhouse, Arranging - Michael Gibbs, Bob Chestnut, Dan Moretti. Classical North Indian Studies: - 13 years traditional with Ustadt Imrat Khan - India’s foremost proponent of sitar and Brian Jones and George Harrison’s first sitar teacher.
To you, what are three of the most influential jazz guitar albums and why? (give details)
1) Montgomeryland - Wes Montgomery - These were some of the first Wes solos I took down. 2) Grantstand - Grant Green - Grant is a master of the extended Jazz blues forms. 3) Natural Elements - Shakti - John Mclaughlin - Acoustic fusion at its highest level with virtuoso jazz and Indian raga performances.
Tell how Windham Hill Records founder, Will Ackerman, effected your playing and career.
Will is an inspiration and guiding light. He believes in strong melodies, streamlined forms, developed ideas. Every single note counts and he prefers a unique, melodic statement over fast phrases always. The experience and confidence gained as a grammy level world class recording artist and composer is incalculable. Will and Tom came to trust my musical insights and we developed a very nice symbiotic relationship with the recording, music creation and mixing process. They then turned me on to the various promotional aspects of releasing a record.
Tell us about your goals in making your new album Land of Enchantment with Tom Scott on saxophone, pianist Dapo Torimiro, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and other fine musician
The goals for this new album are multi-faceted. The first goal was to break me into a new market, from New Age into Contemporary Jazz so I would get noticed. Although I have had much success in the New Age/ Contemporary Instrumental genre, we needed to make an impact out of the gates into a more Contemporary Jazz sort of genre. Jeff selected tunes from my catalogue dating back to 2013 to current and had me write a new one for the recording.He wanted to showcase my writing and performance abilities across a wide musical spectrum. He felt players like Tom Scott, Vinnie Coliauta, Rhonda Smith, Dapo Totimiro and others would be elevate my credibility to a new level and give credence to those not familiar with my previous work.