Dave Harrington, Jay Bellerose & Billy Mohler

For the guitarist Dave Harrington, improvising is a way of life, a method for moving through and interacting with the world. He rarely leaves his home in Los Angeles for a gig, as he does several nights each week, with prepared material; he simply responds to the room, the players, the moment. Harrington grew up in New York, a young and voracious bassist bouncing between jam-band shows, big rock gigs, and improv sets at places like Tonic, realizing they were all part of the same continuum. In college, he met Nicolas Jaar and soon started Darkside, the electronic duo whose magnetic songs seem built from blocks of minimal techno, acid jazz, kosmische, and city pop. That has long been only part of Harrington’s wide-ranging creative practice, though, from leading the exploratory Dave Harrington Group to his stint in the magnificent Taper’s Choice, from his session work with the likes of Alanis Morissette and Cassandra Jenkins to projects alongside Patrick Shiroishi, Robert Walter, and Chris Forsyth. Harrington is a spectacular guitarist who always seems to be in search of a novel situation, some setting to which he might adapt and learn.

After moving to Los Angeles, Harrington met bassist Billy Mohler at ETA, the late but legendary hotspot that launched multiple improv-rooted projects. Mohler was a busy session guy, having worked with the likes of Lee “Scratch” Perry and Dolly Parton. (He has since led several improvisational records with the likes of Jeff Parker and Chris Speed,too.) He and Harrington played with another drummer a few times, then recruited Jay Bellerose, a fellow session player who was long a first-call drummer for producers Joe Henry and T Bone Burnett. “It was instantly one of those things where I went, ‘Oh, this is a band, a thing,’” Harrington remembered of the trio’s first rendezvous. That chemistry is apparent on 2025’s great First Set, where tension between the acoustic rhythm section and Harrington’s borderless electric guitar (and his panoply of effects) maintains a what-will-happen-next sensation. This trio has a standing and popular gig at Los Angeles’ Club Tee Gee each month; they bring it to Big Ears 2027. Harrington also leads his Pranksters South at Big Ears, plus a duo with Kalia Vandever; Bellerose plays with Jeff Parker ETA IVtet.