A perceptive soul once observed that if Charlie Parker had decided to play the clarinet instead of the alto sax, the world today would be over-run with musicians waving little black wooden sticks.

That's not true, really, for one simple reason: it's an exceptionally tough instrument to master, part of the reason why the bop era produced so few memorable clarinetists. Even today, it's almost relegated to 'miscellaneous instrument' status. Only a handful of young musos these days make it their axe of choice.

So, thank heaven for Alex Hutchinson and his ilk. The clarinet, with its warm, expressive tone and better than usual range of notes, richly deserves the exposure that he and ilk like Ken Peplowski, Antti Sarpila and Don Burrows are giving it.

Exhibit A is this CD, a collection of standards ranging from the very famous (Georgia on my mind) to the slightly obscure (I'll never be the same). Alex calls it 'Clarinet Love Affair' but don't expect a tepid mood album full of turgid ballads and syrupy string section. This is a swinging jazz outing with plenty of imagination, integrity and individualism.

Consider 'Days of wine and roses'. The cliché is to play it very slowly, but Alex and the team kick the beat up several notches, as just Phil Woods (a fine clarinet player himself) would do. It works. Want to include a Gershwin number? Fine. Choose 'Love walked in' among George's best but least-heard melodies. Tadd Dameron's 'If you could see me now' is a luscious and under appreciated tune. Here it is at a satisfying, lightly swinging tempo.

A notoriously tough self-critic, Alex is in top form here. His formidable chops, honed over a very long jazz career, are especially well-displayed on 'Love is just around the corner' and 'Days of wine and roses', where he evokes the latter-years Artie Shaw. On 'Imagination', he digs into the full range of the instrument, something only a handful of players (like Bob Wilber, from Alex' generation) seem to be willing to attempt.

Pianist Mark Fitzgibbon is a hidden treasure of Australian jazz; perhaps this CD will help audiences truly appreciate his gifts. He suggests the masters like Hank Jones and Roland Hann on all his solo opportunities, utterly tasteful and never predictable. The first-call rhythm section of bassist Geoff Kluke and either Sonja Horbelt or Dave Beck on drums does what it should, swings effortlessly and inspires Alex and Mark throughout.

If in the past you have flirted with saxes and had flings with piano trios, consider a new adventure, a clarinet love affair. Alex and the gang are just the musicians to make it happen.