Davy Mooney & Ko Omura: The Word
Sunnyside Records

Contrasts permeate the sophomore album by guitarist Davy Mooney and drummer Ko Omura when The Word provides an outlet for their different dispositions, with Mooney himself noting that his colleague's pieces “are more positive and open” whereas his highly structured tunes exude “meticulous darkness.” Such differences make for an interesting and engaging recording, naturally, especially when Omura's music draws for inspiration from Indian music and two of the tracks include tabla. Collapsing the distance even more are a shared affinity for cantabile melodies and personnel that's present throughout the set. Joining the co-leaders are the great John Ellis on saxophones (tenor and soprano) and bass clarinet, bassist Matt Clohesy, and pianist Glenn Zaleski, all three carry-overs from the debut album Mooney and Omura issued in 2018, Benign Strangers. Well-crafted tunes and solid playing distinguish the new set, and the ten tracks offer an abundance of rewards.

The co-leaders' partnership originated more than a decade ago when Mooney, set to embark on a Japan tour, was joined by Omura after a friend recommended the drummer for the gig. A close bond emerged that the two formalized into a musical union and subsequent album. Even though the pandemic slowed the momentum of their creative endeavours, the two persevered, wrote and collated tunes, and gathered with the others at Brooklyn's Big Orange Sheep for two days in June 2024 to record the material. Enhancing the performances are Ellis, Clohesy, and Zaleski, all three versatile and adaptable pros, and Mooney and Omura are not just decent writers but strong players too.

Initiating the set silkily is Omura's “Sheep Wash,” its pretty theme delivered with characteristic smoothness by Ellis and ornamented by the drummer's colourations and Zaleski's decorative touches. Reflecting the egoless spirit of the outfit, the saxophonist's up first in the solo department, with his suave turn flowing into an equally deft expression by the pianist and, thirdly, Mooney, whose legato statement perpetuates the harmonic tone established by the others. One of the album's more memorable pieces comes next, Mooney's “Wormcast” a standout for the dreamy melodic line that snakes its way through the twenty-four-bar blues structure. Pretty too is his “Maybe,” which takes the album out on a beguiling bossa nova wave.

With “Groove for Clyde,” Mooney pays tribute to his former teacher, New Orleans trumpeter/educator Clyde Kerr, Jr., the tune otherwise noteworthy for its polyrhythmic 7/4 metre, the arresting sound of Ellis's sprightly soprano sax solo, and the unison pairing of his bass clarinet with Clohesy's bass. Omura's gifts as a writer come through in the harmonious uplift of “K. I. (KaidaInspired)” (even if it ends abruptly) and “Ektaal,” the impact of the gentle, inward-probing latter sweetened by the presence of tabla and bass clarinet. A slightly different side of the quintet's documented when the tabla- and soprano sax-enhanced “Dattatreya” captures it in spirited free play.

February 2025