Billy Mohle's THE ETERNAL Debuts New Quartet With Guitarist Jeff Parker, Altoist Devin Daniels, and Drummer Damion Reid

After three highly regarded albums at the helm of a quartet with Chris Speed, Shane Endsley and Nate Wood (Focus, Anatomy and Ultraviolet), Los Angeles bassist Billy Mohler charts a new course on The Eternal, an impressive all-original set with the renowned and utterly distinctive Jeff Parker on guitar, Devin Daniels on alto saxophone and Damion Reid on drums. This is music that pulses with lyricism and groove, animated by strong musical friendships both old and new.

“Damion and I have been talking about making a record for a few years now,” says Mohler. “He's a close friend, someone I have immense respect for as well as a deep trust, so it was just a matter of time to get into the studio. The album's opener, ‘Those Who Know,' was written for him. I also felt it was time to explore new textures by adding a chordal instrument. Writing primarily on guitar, this shift seemed like a natural evolution. Jeff Parker and I have been collaborating for a few years now; I've subbed in his ETA quartet, and he's played with my band as well. Once I made the decision to include guitar, it had to be Jeff for the vibe he brings to every playing situation and his wide palette of textures and sounds.”

The other requirement for Mohler was that the new quartet still be populated by Los Angeles musicians. Devin Daniels fulfils this and so much more, bringing his adventurous improvisational approach and tonal personality to the mix. “Devin has played in my band a few times and I knew he would be involved in this next group,” Mohler adds. “Devin and Damion had never played together until the day of the session, so I was very excited to see and hear that chemistry! All of us share a love for skateboarding as well—skating is a huge part of the culture growing up on the West Coast, and we all share that passion, which I think gets into the music.”

Another pervasive influence, unavoidably, was the recent death of Mohler's father and uncle within a period of six months. His father was largely absent in Billy's youth, and his death has left unresolved trauma and no small amount of financial chaos. These struggles come into the music in ways Mohler says he does not fully understand: “Everything comes from a deep emotional well that's always there, it's just a matter of choosing to tap into it. Sometimes a melody or bass line will be in my head, or I might play something to initiate the next steps. It's like following breadcrumbs until you arrive at a destination. Knowing where it begins and where it ends is a mystery. I don't intellectualize writing, it's all based on a feeling. It seems like songs are always right under the surface for me.”

One of these, “Sooner,” was inspired by Mohler's late uncle Doug, a member of the Chippewa tribe: “My family held a beautiful traditional service for him in Oklahoma. One of the speakers performed an incredible tribute on a native wood flute, haunting and uplifting all at the same time. My uncle was a passionate Oklahoma Sooners fan, attending every home game for as long as I can remember. The combination of the flute's haunting melody and the heartfelt stories shared sparked the inspiration for this tune.”

A sequence of solo bass interludes, titled “Eternal” one through five, allow us to hear Mohler up close on his instrument, displaying robust technique and teeming imagination as he improvises this set of variations. The vignettes are a kind of narrative framing for the full-band tracks, which include the haunting ballad “Reflection,” the brooding midtempo modal jam “Hawk Wind,” the churning 3/4 space-blues “Adaptation,” the hard-swinging “Destroyer,” the hypnotic “No Age” and the loping, metrically mixed “Tsunami.”

A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Mohler attended the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz as one of only five students, studying with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and other luminaries. Along with his jazz credentials, he has amassed wide-ranging credits in the pop world as a session bassist, producer and songwriter, working with Dolly Parton, Macy Gray, Lady Gaga, Nile Rogers, Sia, Mavis Staples, Jimmy Chamberlin (The Smashing Pumpkins), Kelly Clarkson, Steven Tyler, Jon Brion and a host of others.