Dave Scott, one of Kansas City’s most accomplished jazz exports, plays a few transcendently heartbreaking solos on his new album Setting Standards. Forsaking technical perfection, the trumpeter conveys the melancholy that comes with a mature awareness of the temporal nature of life on ballads including “Embraceable You”, “Emily” and “Once Upon a Summertime”. Pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist John Hébert and drummer Russ Meissner also avoid sentimentality while acknowledging the inevitability of loss. While the quartet’s readings of uptempo material are less distinctive, Scott’s exquisite statements on ballads make Setting Standards essential.