Spotlight: Northwest arts roundup debuts on KQUP-24
A new kind of TV show for the Inland Northwest – a local arts-and- entertainment roundup – premiered Thursday on KQUP-24.
“Entertainment Northwest” covers a wide range of topics in the local entertainment scene including concerts, touring shows and local theater. The host is Christina Crawford, the author of “Mommie Dearest” and daughter of the movie star Joan Crawford.
“She has great contacts in the entertainment industry,” said Rod Hall, general manager of KQUP.
Each half-hour show has tips for the coming weekend, as well as interviews with local and national entertainers. The format resembles a talk show, although it will also have on-location interviews and footage.
The show airs Thursdays at 7:30 a.m. and will repeat on Saturdays, beginning Nov. 17, at 10 a.m.
Carruthers update
Well-known local jazz pianist Arnie Carruthers remained in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as of Thursday, but his condition was continuing to slowly improve.
He broke his back in three places in an auto accident in Montana earlier this month.
Jazz Dialogue Festival
Here’s an early alert about one of the biggest jazz events in the region: The Eastern Washington University Jazz Dialogue Festival, Nov. 15 to 17 at various venues on the Cheney campus.
Hordes of collegiate, high school and middle school jazz musicians will be roaming the campus competing in contests, attending seminars and watching performances by jazz pros.
The big events: The Nov. 16, 8 p.m., concert featuring pianist Hal Galper and his trio, and the Nov. 17, 8 p.m. concert featuring jazz composer/arranger Bill Holman.
Both shows are in Showalter Auditorium. Tickets and information are available by calling (509) 359-7073.
Big Band Monday
Speaking of jazz, if you love to listen to (or dance to) big band jazz, you should check out the Bob Curnow Big Band every Monday night from 7:30 to 9:30 at Club MAX, 8122 E. Sprague Ave.
This show is for all ages and there is no cover charge. You can also eat dinner at the club, which bills itself as a Vegas-style nightclub and restaurant, with the subtitle “The House of Motown, Jazz and Blues.”
Bloody ‘Andronicus’
“Titus Andronicus,” the bloodiest and most lurid of Shakespeare’s plays, continues a Halloween-season run at Washington State University’s Jones Theater in Daggy Hall.
The play, directed by Stan Brown, continues Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7.50 for seniors and $5 for students. Call (509) 335-7236 for reservations.
There will also be special half-price Halloween tickets at the door on Wednesday for those who show up in costume.
Inland Crafts
Just a reminder: Inland Crafts (formerly known as Inland Craft Warnings) takes place next weekend at the Spokane Convention Center, Friday through Nov. 4.
For many people, Inland Crafts is the premier place to do early Christmas shopping for handcrafted gifts.
About 75 artisans – potters, photographers, weavers, woodworkers, glass blowers and more – will have their wares on display.
Admission is only $7 at the door for the entire weekend. Keep an eye out for a full story soon.
‘Elegance’ alert
Another reminder: Christmas Tree Elegance, the Spokane Symphony Associates’ big Christmas tree fundraiser, will run Nov. 23 through Dec. 8 at the Davenport Hotel.
One of the first events is “An Evening with Eckart and Friends,” which features Spokane Symphony music director Eckart Preu playing what one event organizer calls “German coffee house music” on the piano, accompanied by a string quartet. It sounds like a rollicking good time.
That takes place Nov. 25 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the hotel’s Isabella Ballroom. Admission will be $10 at the door.
Snake River Six
The Snake River Six, which says it may be “the oldest jazz band in the West,” will play at the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown, Wash., on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m.
The band is reputed to have existed in one form or another since the 1930s. Trombonist Wally Friel, a retired Whitman County judge, has been playing with the band for 55 years. They play New Orleans jazz from the 1920s – i.e., Dixieland.
The concert is presented by Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, and the cost is $5 at the door.