Gramps vamps

Some students will do anything for an A.

When Nick Klassen was assigned a 15-minute presentation on “Improvisation, the Language of Jazz,” for his music appreciation class at Spokane Community College, he asked his instructor if his audio-visuals could include his grandfather.

“I said, ‘Who’s that?’ ” recounted music instructor Mike Caldwell.

It turned out to be none other that Spokane jazz legend Arnie Carruthers, who performed Thursday at SCC’s Lair Auditorium with the other two members of his trio, Tom Schager on drums and Steven Heffner on bass.

Actually, Klassen’s presentation took a little longer then 15 minutes. You can lose track of time when you count it in quarter notes.

And you can’t blame Caldwell for using the opportunity to bring a little media attention to the Humanities Department at the college, which is primarily known as a technical school, and a rare tribute to Carruthers from the city of Spokane.

Councilwoman Mary Verner was on hand to present the pianist with a proclamation from Mayor Jim West declaring Thursday “Arnie Carruthers Day.”

“You put Spokane on the musical map,” Verner told Carruthers. “We love you, and we appreciate you.”

Carruthers, 76, grew up in Kalispell, Mont., before moving to Spokane in 1957. He worked for Pacific Fruit for a few years before choosing to make music his life. He achieved fame playing such venues as Spokane’s Davenport Hotel, Seattle’s Olympic Hotel and the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

After a stroke landed Carruthers in the Veterans Affairs Medical Center for four and a half months and robbed him of the use of his left hand in 1974, he set about training himself to play one-handed.

“Every day became a little bit dearer,” Carruthers said Thursday. “Over the years I developed some tricks to compensate.”

He began his career anew and also enrolled at Eastern Washington University where he completed the degree in music theory and composition that he began many years before at the University of Montana. He recently returned from his sixth consecutive year of performing at the Sun Valley Jazz Festival.

It was at the Davenport that Schager began performing with Carruthers in 1966. Heffner, the other member of the trio, is a 21-year-old bass virtuoso at EWU.

Attending Thursday morning’s lecture and performance were members of Carruthers’ family, which includes 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Many of them are musicians themselves, including daughter Charlotte Carruthers, a vocalist with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra, and grandson Jacob, who recently added his saxophone to the Mountain View Middle School Jazz Band.

Asked Thursday which performance of his career was the most memorable, Carruthers answered without hesitation.

“I haven’t had it yet,” he said.