James Davison and Misha Mullov-Abbado
Moon Beans
by Howard Lawes
One of the loveliest things that musician friends can do is to make music together. It could be a spur of the moment thing, or at a party or just one of those magical days when everything comes together and something artistic is created. Musicians James Davison and Misha Mullov-Abbado have been close friends for nearly 20 years and via a Zoom call Misha described how they came to create a duo album called Moon Beans. Here is an introduction:
James and Misha first met at Junior RCM, which are the Saturday classes held at the Royal College of Music for aspiring, junior musicians. At this time Misha was playing the french horn, while James had settled on the trumpet. Their paths crossed again in Cambridge, where they both played in the Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra, but with Misha now playing double bass. In 2014 Misha went on to win both the Worshipful Company of Musicians Dankworth Prize for Composition and the Royal Academy of Music Kenny Wheeler Prize. James became lead trumpet in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and won the Smith-Watkins Trumpet Award (2016) at the Royal Academy of Music, and the Worshipful Company of Musicians Young Jazz Musician of the year (2018).
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James and Misha used to lodge together and they spent many happy hours just jamming in the basement. Since graduating with an MA in Jazz Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, James has become a regular lead trumpet in West End Shows, he has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra and as guest Principal with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hallé Orchestra. James is a member of Jonny Mansfield’s Elftet, the Sam Watts band, The London Jazz Orchestra, Joe Hill’s North Ark, and co-leads his own band, with trombonist Callum Au, called Quintet a Tete. James is also a member of the Misha Mullov-Abbado Band and occasionally performs, alongside Misha, with The Patchwork Jazz Orchestra. Misha’s other projects include a trio with Alice Zawadzki and Fred Thomas who recently released the acclaimed Za Gorami (2024) album; a duo with his mother, the renowned violinist Viktoria Mullova releasing an album called Music We Love (2020) and a band called Songs for the Earth that fuses folk, jazz and classical music.
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Here are Misha and James with Matthew Herd (alto sax), Sam Rapley (tenor sax); Liam Dunachie (piano) and Scott Chapman (drums) with the excellent Subsonic Glow from the 2025 album Effra.
Apart from the not too subtle play on words, the album title Moon Beans has no particular significance, but it has inspired a colourful album cover by Ollie Hayward that could well have been influenced by the art of Henri Rousseau. There are nine tracks on the album, an eclectic mix of ragtime, jazz and popular music that includes a couple of originals, Subsonic Glow by Misha and Sunday’s Mudbath which is a combined effort.
The two ragtime pieces, Maple Leaf Rag (Scott Joplin's first piano roll recording, 1916) and That’s A Plenty (Lew Pollack, 1914) are handled with aplomb, James taking the lead with muted trumpet and playing in a New Orleans Dixieland style. Both these tunes have been covered hundreds of times over many years, but these duo versions bring a simple clarity, allowing the wonderful melodies to shine through, occasionally embellished with some short, witty improvisations.
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Here is Maple Leaf Rag:
The three jazz standards are Polka Dots and Moon Beams (Jimmy Van Heusen, 1940), Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don’t Tease Me (Duke Ellington, 1946) and A Child Is Born (Thad Jones, 1969).
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Davison’s trumpet playing is up there with the greats of yesteryear playing Polka Dots and Moonbeams as a ballad with great tenderness. Both James and Misha play solos to create a lovely track. The original version of Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don’t Tease Me) in 1946 featured the virtuoso mult-instrumentalist and singer, Ray Nance, known for introducing the plunger trumpet mute. James features the mute but not the vocals in this lively version of a well-known tune and a section of trading phrases nicely illustrates the duo’s mutual understanding. A Child is Born is a slow waltz by trumpeter Thad Jones, and James and Misha stick fairly closely to the original, recording it in 2023, which pre-dates by some margin the birth of Misha’s first child.
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Listen to Polka Dots And Moonbeams:
Sunday’s Mudbath is the only track on the album, jointly composed by James and Misha. It is not clear what the title refers to but both James and Misha have a lot of fun trying out different ways of performing the material, varying the tempo and rhythm either together or separately. Chega de Saudade / No More Blues is a song by Antonio Carlos Jobim. When it was released in 1957 it introduced the world to the romantic sound of bossa nova. James and Misha’s version is less about the bossa nova and more about trying different arrangements which makes for a varied and interesting piece. Misha’s composition Subsonic Glow was featured on his album Effra (2025) but this is the original recording, and it works very well for the duo.
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One of the tracks is a nod to James and Misha’s love of Beatles music and rather intriguingly they have chosen Maxwell’s Siver Hammer. This song by Paul McCartney, inspired by a hammer wielding murderer, is widely believed to have contributed to the break-up of the Beatles and has been described as a “ghastly miscalculation”. James and Misha play the melody three times increasing the tempo each time suggesting perhaps a circus or music hall performance. Without the words it is a catchy tune and seems unlikely to cause any damage to James and Misha’s partnership.
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Moon Beans is a fascinating album in many ways. It is remarkable how a duo, playing only trumpet and double bass, can produce such worthwhile renditions of music that may have originally been played by much larger ensembles. In fact, the clarity and simplicity that James and Misha bring to the pieces on the album, some of which have already been covered hundreds of times, clearly illustrates the enduring fascination of jazz through new arrangements and improvisation. The album is also about fun and friendship, two excellent young musicians just enjoying what they do best.
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The album Moon Beans is available here. Misha's website is here and James is on Facebook and Instagram.
© Sandy Brown Jazz 2026.3