Making avant-garde jazz in a mostly killing climate

Moppa Elliott of Mostly Other People Do the Killing is interviewed.

The record business is a sinkhole no matter which way you turn.

But in this troubled economy, Moppa Elliott chose an especially tough path: playing in an avant-garde bop band named Mostly Other People Do the Killing, and starting his own tiny jazz label, Hot Cup.

Elliott, 30, a bassist/composer born in Factoryville, says, “Look, we’re just a couple of over-schooled jazz guys who want to play. The problem is that most jazz is not only boring and bad, but irrelevant.”

The mission of MOPDtK: Make valid 21st-century jazz that his label will release. That’s a big load with a long haul.