Guitarist Davy Mooney is an adept performer with a bent toward warm, harmonically nuanced jazz. A native of New Orleans, Mooney studied music from a young age, and attended both Ben Franklin High School and the famed New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, where he also worked as an instructor. After high school, he honed his skills at the University of North Texas, and later enrolled in the University of New Orleans to pursue his master's degree. In 2005, a mere two weeks after evacuating New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina, he finished third in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. He then relocated to New York, subsequently gigging and releasing his debut album, Astoriano. From 2007 to 2009 he studied at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, then based at Chicago's Loyola University. During his time there, he befriended future collaborators drummer Brian Blade and pianist Jon Cowherd, who later invited the guitarist to perform with the Brian Blade Fellowship at a Lincoln Center concert. Upon graduating from the Monk Institute, he paired with guitarist John Pizzarelli for the duo album Last Train Home, after which he returned to New Orleans. Mooney gathered Blade and Cowherd along with saxophonist John Ellis and bassist Matt Clohesy for his Perrier Street album in 2012. The same ensemble was also on board for the guitarist's 2017 effort, Hope of Home. ~ Matt Collar