Dixieland jazz coming to Spokane
To some people, Dixieland jazz is the one true jazz.
At the least, Dixieland is the original kind of jazz, hearkening back to New Orleans in the 1920s.
This weekend, somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 Dixieland enthusiasts will be in jazz heaven for the 10th annual Spokane Dixieland Jazz Festival at the downtown Masonic Temple.
“It’s a great destination event,” said Diane Munger, a festival organizer. “At least half of the people who come will be from out of town. It really brings people into Spokane.”
Many enthusiasts follow a regular circuit of jazz festivals all over the country.
“Some people say that Spokane, Sacramento and Sun Valley are the best,” said Munger. “Spokane is known in particular for featuring trad jazz — meaning traditional jazz.”
After a pre-festival party tonight, the festival officially begins at 3 p.m. on Friday and continues all day Saturday and Sunday, ending with an After Glow concert Sunday night at the nearby Spokane Club.
“As far as I know, the festival is the only event around here where you can listen to 10 bands playing the entire weekend, with three to four playing at any one time for listening and dancing,” said Munger. “We also have food and beverages on site.”
Some of the musicians are local, including Spokane’s Dixie Dandies and Sandpoint’s ragtime piano specialist, Scott Kirby. Others come from more distant points.
“Cornet Chop Suey is one of the newer bands we have this year, from Sullivan, Mo.,” said Munger. “Titanic, from Burbank, Calif., is a very, very popular band.”
The rest of the lineup includes the Devil Mountain Jazz Band from California; Bob Jackson and Docktown from Tacoma; the Grand Dominion Jazz Band from various locales in the U.S. and Canada; the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band from Portland; The Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band from Bellevue; and Tuxedo Junction from Spokane, which will play the Saturday night Swing Dance show at 7:30 p.m.
Cornet Chop Suey plays at the pre-festival party tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. A free Gospel Service with the Black Swan Jazz Band will be at 9 a.m. Sunday. The After Glow dinner and concert will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Three local people are responsible for this festival’s success. Ten years ago, Dean Martin, Dick Robbins and Norma Stejer got together and decided to launch a Dixieland festival.
It took off, and this has been a boon to more than just Dixieland fans.
“We just got some awards from the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau for our contribution to tourism in Spokane,” said Munger. “We’re very happy about that.”