Bio

An adept guitarist, Todd Mosby has garnered acclaim for his sophisticated, broad-minded blend of contemporary jazz, folk, new age, and North Indian raga traditions. He first showcased his sound on 2004′s West East, and has continued to explore a mix of Western and Eastern sounds on a series of nature and spiritually minded concept albums like 2016′s Eagle Mountain, 2019′s Open Waters , and 2020′s Aerial Views . With 2023′s Land of Enchantment, he turned his attention to the arid landscapes of America’s Southwest.

Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Mosby grew up in an aviation family and often co-piloted airplanes with his father. He also developed a love of music, starting on guitar at age six. However, it wasn’t until he was 18 that he became more serious about playing music. After high school, he attended Berklee School of Music in Boston where he developed his jazz chops. He also spent several years fronting a new wave band. By the ’90s, he was working regularly as a first-call jazz musician in the Saint Louis area. It was also during this period that he began studying privately with master sitar player Ustadt Imrat Khan learning traditional Classical North Indian raga music.

Over time, he developed a cross-pollinated style, bridging jazz, raga, new age, and folk traditions. His work with Imrat Khan also led to the development of the acoustic Imrat Guitar, a hybrid sitar and guitar. He showcased his genre-bending approach on his 2004 debut, West East. In 2016, he released his sophomore album and first in a series of connected, nature-focused concept albums, Eagle Mountain. It earned a ZMR Award nomination (Zone Music Reporter) for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. He joined Will Ackerman ’s Four Guitars ensemble shortly after its release, and began touring and recording with them along with his own New Horizons Ensemble. Mosby’s second concept release, Open Waters , followed in 2019 and picked up his first ZMR Album Award. In 2020, he released the third album in his concept series, Aerial Views, which found him drawing upon his love of the sky and flight and received his second ZMR Album Award as well as a USA Songwriters Award.

Inspired by the landscape of the Southwestern United States, as well as the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe, he delivered 2023′s Land of Enchantment. It featured contributions by saxophonist Tom Scott , drummer Vinnie Colaiuta , violinist Charlie Bisharat , and others. ~ Matt Collar