Tony Mottola was in the spotlight for most of the 1980s as Frank Sinatra's accompanist of choice.  But his career had begun five decades before with the swing orchestras of the 1930s and duets with fellow virtuoso Carl Kress.  He released dozens of albums under his own leadership and appeared as a sideman on many more.  His work in the television studios is legendary - including the guitar chair in the Tonight Show Orchestra - and culminating in an Emmy award for composition.  He was a salt-of-the-earth player with an encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary song forms, metronomic time feel and an unerring sense of taste - sought after and hired by the likes of Urbie Green, Ray Charles and Doc Severinsen to name a few.  Tony Mottola was a true professional.