Long considered as one of the Big Apple's most in demand sidemen, in recent years alto-tenor saxophonist Dick Oatts has stepped out as a leader. In this his fifth effort as a leader for SteepleChase seven out of the eight tunes are originals.
The band is anchored by his long time rhythm section of Dave Santoro on bass and James Oblon on drums.
On three of these tunes he is joined by SteepleChase stalwart pianist Harold Danko whom he first met and played with in the Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra in the late seventies.
Ken Dryden of the AMG All Music Guide describes Oatts as having a "fat confident tone." Indeed this is a saxophonist extrordinaire whose instrumental prowess is matched only by his compositional abilities.
