UPPER LAKE, Calif. – On Saturday, Nov. 12, the saxophone and overall music virtuoso Matt Rothstein, a Kelseyville native now based in Sacramento, will open the 10th season of intimate “Concerts with Conversation” in the Meeting House next to the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake.

Joining Rothstein on stage will be an ensemble of some of his closest musical friends and teachers including pianist Tom Aiken and guitarist Dan Meyer.
 
“Matt is an amazing musician,” said Tallman owner Bernie Butcher, “and it’s something special that he hasn’t forgotten his roots here in Lake County. His concert here three years ago was one of the best we’ve had in the entire series.”
 
Rothstein is an accomplished saxophonist, vocalist, arranger, pianist and composer. While still at Kelseyville High he was recognized by Down Beat Magazine and the Grammy Foundation as a prodigious talent.

He honed his blend of jazz, folk, and gospel styles into a distinctive voice while attending Sonoma State University and studying under the renowned composers Mel Graves and Will Johnson. 
 
"Lake County has been and remains our truest home,” said Rothstein. “Art flows not only from social context, but from the land itself. For me, that means Mt. Konocti, vineyards and pear trees, and many moments driving around Clear Lake, when the world opened up and I knew anything was possible.”
 
Matt traces his musical concepts not only to national figures like Waylon Jennings and John Coltrane but also to local influences such as his family, St. Mary's Catholic Church and prominent local musicians including Tom Ganoung, Nick Biondo, Nick Reid and Jack Tatum as well as Tom Aiken and Dan Meyer.
 
Both Aiken and Meyer enjoy playing with Rothstein any time he returns to Lake County. For several years, Meyer and Rothstein brought a breath of fresh air to the music program at the Ukiah Methodist Church and Aiken calls Rothstein “perhaps the most creative and talented student I had in all my years at Kelseyville High.”
 
Rounding out the ensemble for the Tallman show will be Rothstein’s wife Jill on vocals as well as a backline of Clint Parker on bass and Randy Wimer on percussion.
 
Rothstein has a real musical partnership with his wife Jill. "She is the most unique and skilled crafter of song I know,” he said. “Her prophetic lyrics, folk-informed melodies, and unconventional, yet immediately resonant explorations of song form uplift and challenge. Jill has profoundly changed me and my music, indisputably for the better."
 
The Tallman Concert Series continues Jan. 21 with Little Charlie Baty and Organ Grinder Swing co-sponsored by Lincoln-Leavitt Insurance. This will be followed on Feb. 18 by pianists Wendy DeWttt and Steve Willis, country star Rita Hosking on March 18 and Bob Culbertson on the Chapman Stick April 8.

The Rothstein Ensemble show on Nov. 12 starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Meeting House next to the Tallman Hotel.

Tickets at $25 plus tax may be purchased by calling the Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0. Coffee and cookies are served prior to the show.

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