David Mott, Baritone Sax, Composer

I have returned after a brief holiday. There are many new and interesting releases to check out along with some worthy backlist. So we press on.

Today we set the clock back to 1990, and a CD called The Standard Line (Page Music), which features baritone saxman David Mott in a series of duets with pianist David Lopato. Other than "Body and Soul," the repertoire consists of Mott and Lopato originals that look backward while pointing forward.

David Mott got his degrees from Berklee and Yale, appeared on an album of post-Milesian electronic improv with his brother, the late Daniel Mott (who incidentally was a regular with the Baird Hersey Year of the Ear, an unjustly neglected, great band), and played with a bunch of important folks. He teaches at York University.

The Standard Line shows him to be a formidable baritonist, with great tone and agility, the ability to rear back and let it loose, and a very discerning compositional sense. His compatriot David Lopato shares with David a great feel for the tradition and its very modern transformation into the present.

This is out-and-in music, touching on the past and bringing it forward to the future. It sounds as fresh today as it no doubt did in 1990 when it was made. Get a copy now while you can.