One of the very coolest cats in town is a wise-cracking wizard with a saxophone and clarinet, a sensation on the drums – and he just happens to be 86.

The leader and musical arranger of the band, the Rotary Club of Sacramento Rooters, Evans "Red" Clark also delivers the comic relief between songs.

You'll admire that – his delivery – watching him feign sore ribs and wince as if he'd been kicked by a horse or roll his eyes with a grin full of mischief.

Clark's jokes and playfulness ensure that the audience won't be too disappointed when the big band music stops swingin'.

The Rotary Rooters aren't getting rich. They are getting rewarded, raising money for charity, about $4,000 to $6,000 annually, since the band started playing in the mid-1980s.

In recent years, the Rooters have rotated through a regular circuit of 22 retirement homes.

"They're all purple-haired beauties," quipped Clark, when asked about the audiences. "We hope to give them an hour of enjoyment when they can forget all that's bad and live in the moment."

The host homes pay a fee that goes to the charities, and the band recently released a CD/DVD that sells for $20. It, too, benefits charity. The money is split between the Sacramento Rotary Foundation and the "Polio Plus" program of Rotary International.

Clark and the band of seniors who make up the Rooters perform all the old standards. At a recent early afternoon performance at a senior apartment complex in Fair Oaks, about 50 residents clapped their hands and tapped their feet and sung along with their favorite tunes.

The band – on this day, it was five saxophones, a keyboard, trombone and drum – was animated and full of energy. They wore white dress shirts open at the collar, dark slacks and, well, not-so-hip comfort shoes.

Clark told a mother-in-law joke. The audience, nearly all women, laughed heartily.

The residents indulged in cupcakes, ice cream and juice. The sun filtered in from a large side window looking out to the pool.

And yes, even here the musicians had to contend with cell phones – one went off between "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)." A woman, holding a cane in one hand, answered the call with the other.

During the performance, several of the musicians stood and played solos. When drummer Otto Eid came to the front to sing, Clark sat in at the drum set and was masterful with the wood sticks in his hands.

Clark, a veteran musician and part owner of a title insurance company, signed on with the Rotary Rooters in 1988.

Decades ago, he taught music. Once, a local boy named Tony showed up for lessons on the drums and, though he tried his best, could never quite get the hang of it.

"After I gave him lessons for a year, I said, 'Tony, you'd better take up some other profession,' " said Clark.

The boy listened. The not-so-rhythmic Tony went on to law school. These days, he's better known as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Two years ago, Clark was persuaded by a former hotshot saxophonist to join the band. Clyde Bell was considered among the best musicians playing in California. But he disappeared from the scene for many years.

"We had seven children. I had to make a living. I think I just put it aside," said Bell, also 86, who plays tenor sax and rarely has to glance at the music on the page.

It didn't take long to recapture his form. Bell is now a Rooter regular.

Tom Wallace, 72, who plays alto sax, said, "Clyde is at a whole different level from anyone else in the band as far as improvising goes. He's a genius. Just sitting next to him, it's inspiring."

Call The Bee's Blair Anthony Robertson, (916) 321-1099.