Rothermel is leader, arranger, woodwind player (soprano, alto and tenor saxes; clarinet) and producer of this remarkably satisfying disc. In the many decades that he has been on the San Francisco scene, Rothermel has played every music style from early Dixieland and trad-jazz through swing, boppish modern, blues, western swing, folk and rock – probably even smooth jazz, if anyone ever defines it.

He’s toured extensively with such diverse stylists as Van Morrison and Steve Goodman; Bob Crosby, Maria Muldaur, Leon Redbone, Dr. John and pianists Jay McShann, Sammy Price and Lloyd Glenn. He’s been on about 100 LPs and CDs – as well as many dozens of commercials, jazz festival stages, benefit concerts, pit bands and the like.

Like every fine talent with good ears, Rothermel doesn’t just play gigs and split; he is a perfectionist, constantly studying and absorbing the music, the styles, orchestrations, early recordings and history as he goes along.

His band here is the best of jazz units – the small ensemble. It swings from the opening drum riff (played by the estimable veteran Dave Black) on the Goodman Sextet’s number "Seven Come Eleven" right through to the conclusion of "The Night Is Blue" – a beautiful, obscure number from a 1934 Red Norvo session which included Artie Shaw, clarinet, Charlie Barnet, tenor, and Teddy Wilson, piano.

Rothermel’s clarinet tone throughout this disc is at once reminiscent of Goodman, then Shaw, then again Buster Bailey. On "Till Tom Special" he even gets the hot, raw style of the late 1920’s Goodman.

The other Goodman Sextet numbers here ("Till Tom Special" and "Soft Winds") are familiar to enthusiasts primarily because of guitarist Charlie Christian’s work, and "All the Cats Join In", written by Alec Wilder for a 1944 movie cartoon soundtrack, played by Goodman, was never well known. Rothermel first heard it on a 1950’s Buck Clayton LP.

And it swings.

Rothermel’s arrangements on the Goodman tunes are beautifully layered – on "Seven Come Eleven", for instance, Shota Osabe’s piano, Duncan James’ guitar and Al Obidinski’s bass keep a multi-part harmonic line rolling underneath the lead clarinet, then after a key change it’s a clarinet-drum duet, with swapped riffs and lots of fun.

Obidinski’s S.F. career goes back to the 1960’s, when he was the house bassist at the famous hungry i; at this session, he frequently hums along, Slam Stewart-style, with his bowed bass. His playing and recorded sounds have never been better captured.

A gorgeous 1940 Duke Ellington ballad, "Morning Glory", features Rothermel’s clarinet with especially fine, subdued solos from piano, guitar and bass. "Easy On the Eye", another Norvo ballad, this time from 1957, features Rothermel on tenor and some fiery muted trumpet work by another Bay Area star, Allen Smith. Guitarist Duncan James’ two imaginatively structured solo choruses lead into the neatly arranged ending.

Smith, who is not on all tracks, gets in some noteworthy solo space on "Slam-In Around" (aka "Frolic Sam", a Cootie Williams – Duke Ellington small combo recording) as well as on "The New Tulsa Blues", a boogie-based version of an early Bennie Moten orchestral number.

"La Rosita", a pop-Latin hit by Xavier Cugat – with a wonderful release leading into the melody – features Rothermel on tenor sax; on "Perdido" he’s playing alto (with a fine bass-guitar backup) and on Alec Wilder’s "Moon and Sand", a great number, 60 years old and forgotten, Rothermel is on soprano sax, backed most effectively by Osabe on keyboard – who often phrases like the great Jess Stacy.

And it swings!

By Philip Elwood, San Francisco Chronicle – December 26, 2000