November 6, 2008 in Features

Think beyond swing!

Annual jazz and blues festival expands to include wider mix of genres
By The Spokesman-Review
 
Courtesy of 2008 Think Swing! Jazz and Blues Festival photo

Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio serves as the headliner tonight at the Davenport Hotel. Courtesy of 2008 Think Swing! Jazz and Blues Festival
(Full-size photo)

Inside  Look for a complete schedule for Think Swing! Jazz and Blues Festival, which kicks off tonight. Tickets are available through TicketsWest, www.ticketswest.com, (509) 325-SEAT. (For more information, audio clips and more, visit www.thinkswingspokane.com)

Think Swing!

Here’s the full schedule. Except where noted, tickets available through TicketsWest, www.ticketswest.com, (509) 325-SEAT. (For more information, audio clips and more, visit www.thinkswingspokane.com):

Tonight

The Marie Antoinette Room at the Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post St. (all ages welcome)

6:30 p.m.: Andreas Oberg with Brent Edstrom, Clipper Anderson, Daniel Cox and guest vocalist Julia Keefe (tickets are $29)

9:30 p.m.: Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio with guest guitarist Matt Munisteri ($29)

Think Swing! River of Music*

8 p.m.: Steven King at Madeleine’s Cafe & Patisserie, 707 W. Main St. (all ages)

8 p.m.: Miss Rose and her Rhythm Percolators at The Peacock Room at The Davenport Hotel (21and older welcome)

9:30 p.m.: Schauer With Friends at The AlterKnit Lounge at The Knitting Factory, 919 W. Sprague Ave. (21 and older)

9:30 p.m.: Julia Keefe at Caterina Winery, 905 N. Washington St. (all ages)

9:30 p.m.: 6’ Foot Swing at The Casbah, 416 W. Sprague (21+)

9:30 p.m.: Band of Randy Pirates at Brooklyn Nights, 122 S. Monroe St. (21+)

10 p.m.: Alyse Black at Zola, 22 W. Main (21+)

*The River of Music is a non-ticketed event, though many clubs will charge a cover to be announced at the door.

Saturday

The Knitting Factory (all-ages)

Session I

1 p.m.: Miss Rose and her Rhythm Percolators

2 p.m.: 6’ Swing

3:30 p.m.: Pete Peterson Septet with Bria Schonberg

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and $10 per person for groups of 10 or more.

Session II

5:30 p.m.: Matt Munisteri with the Hot Club of Spokane

6:30 p.m.: Hot Club of New Orleans featuring dance performance by Russ Bruner and Susan Kane

8:30 p.m.: Jazz Manouche Jam featuring improvisation from players Hot Club of New Orleans, Hot Club of Spokane, 6’ Swing and more.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors/students, and $10 per person for groups of 10 or more.

Session III

9:30 p.m.: The Solomon Douglas Swingtet with Bria Skonberg

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students/seniors, $10 per person for groups of 10 or more).

The AlterKnit Lounge (21+)

2:30 p.m.: Andreas Oberg’s jazz guitar master class

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door

Day passes available for Saturday sessions, re-entry permissible; $40 for adults, $35 for seniors/students.

Sunday

Festival Finale at The Spokane Masonic Center, 1108 W. Riverside Ave. (all ages)

1:30 p.m.: Bob Curnow Big Band ($10)

4:30 p.m.: Hot Club of Cowtown with the Hot Club of Spokane with Ryan Martin and Keith Brush ($22 for adults, $15 for seniors/students)

Day passes are available for Sunday shows for $30 for adults, $20` for students/seniors.

In Sandpoint (all ages)

Friday at 8 p.m. at The Panida Theatre: The Stolen Sweets ($18, all ages)

Saturday at 8 p.m. at The Panida: Hot Club of Cowtown ($18, all ages)

Combo passes for Sandpoint shows are $29.

A band that’s swinging doesn’t have to play swing music. That’s something the organizer of the 2008 Think Swing! Jazz and Blues Festival wants to make clear.

When Garrin Hertel organized the first Think Swing! festival in Spokane three years ago, it showcased a collective of genuine New Orleans jazz and blues musicians in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Since then the festival has expanded, incorporating 17 local, regional and national touring acts that range from traditional, western and gypsy genres across seven venues in Spokane and Sandpoint this weekend.

“I wanted more styles and we’ve got a great selection of traditional styles mixed with more modern styles,” said Hertel, who partnered with the local Jazz Guitar Society to bring in jazz virtuoso Andreas Oberg as one of the main attractions this year.

Other highlights at the festival include the return of 2007 Think Swing! headliner Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio, the Hot Club of New Orleans and the Texas-based Hot Club of Cowtown.

The Think Swing! Jazz and Blues Festival kicks off tonight with the River of Music – a circuit that features bands at seven different venues around downtown Spokane, with chances to win tickets to the rest of the festival – plus Oberg and MacGill co-headlining at the Davenport, and Portland’s Stolen Sweets swinging through The Panida Theatre in Sandpoint.

“(The River of Music) is a way to get younger people who go to those clubs to come out for the rest of the festival – like Symphony on the Edge at the Knitting Factory, trying to reach out and say, ‘This is not just for swing fanatics,’ ” Hertel said.

The festival continues Saturday with a dance-intensive all-day jam at the Knitting Factory highlighted by the Hot Club of New Orleans, in addition to concerts at the Davenport and in Sandpoint.

Think Swing’s grand finale show on Sunday at The Spokane Masonic Center features Spokane’s highly regarded 20-piece Bob Curnow Big Band, which will be playing mostly dance numbers with intermingling blues, as well as the Hot Club of Cowtown – featured on “A Prairie Home Companion” and NPR – injecting classic country with traditional jazz instrumentation for a distinct flavor of western swing.

“This is going to bring a lot of people together,” Hertel said. “All the dance bands are multigenerational in this truly American art form,” Hertel said. “Swing dance in America is like Salsa to Brazil.”

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