Swinging Into Action Sjo Plays First-Ever ‘Oktober Swing Fest’
The Spokane Jazz Orchestra will swing hard for WAMPUM’s first ever “Oktober Swing Fest.”
“If you like dancing to the hits of the swing era, this is the event for you,” says Dan Keberle, director of the jazz orchestra.
WAMPUM’s “October Swing Fest” will take place Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel Spokane City Center. Janice Perry, administrator for WAMPUM, said that this new event is a result of creative brainstorming among the group’s constituents.
WAMPUM is well-known for its spring auction which currently raises money for 20 arts organizations. The organization has been around since 1968, when it was formed to raise funds for the Spokane Symphony. WAMPUM has since grown to distribute money to local organizations, both large and small — some of which have few other places to turn for resources.
Perry says that this new venture came about by asking WAMPUM’s potential beneficiaries how they could better be served. “Several said that we could have more than one event, and that we should involve the beneficiaries in those events. It was the jazz orchestra’s idea to do this dance; I have to give them credit.”
The Spokane Jazz Orchestra will be joined by the male vocal quartet, Top Flite, and by renowned local jazz singer Charlotte Carruthers. Keberle said that the band will cover “every big hit from the swing era.”
“Glenn Miller, Harry James, Gene Krupa, Artie Shaw - we have all of their charts in our book,” Keberle says. “Plus we’ll do a little bit of the new swing artists like Brian Setzer and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.”
Tickets seem a little pricey at first glance, but don’t let that scare you. The $35 admission gets you your first pitcher of beer or pop, or a decanter of wine, plus an engraved commemorative stein, on top of dancing your little shoes off from 7 to midnight to a live big band.
There will be door prizes, too. Not lame stuff, but four days and nights at the Sacramento Jazz Festival, the world’s largest traditional jazz fest, and three days and two nights in Las Vegas, with air fare and hotels covered. Not only that, you will be supporting the arts.
Proceeds get distributed to everything from Allegro to Zephyr, and recipients have included Connoisseur Concerts, Spokane British Brass Band, Spokane Area Children’s Chorus, Spokane Civic Theatre, KPBX, the Inland Northwest Men’s Chorus and many more.
Perry says, “We’re going to have a great time, and we hope it’s the first of many more. Our goal is to raise more money to distribute to the organizations that need it.”
ON STAGE Oktober Swing Fest WAMPUM’s first Annual Oktober Swing Fest with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra is Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight at the DoubleTree Hotel Spokane City Center, Grand Ballroom. Tickets: $35 (G&B, 325-SEAT or online at www.ticketswest.com.)