Spokane Jazz Orchestra takes on music of Bing Crosby

The Spokane Jazz Orchestra has been a local institution for more than 40 years, and it’s currently moving into a new chapter of its history. Longtime SJO leader Tom Molter retired last year, and musician and composer Don Goodwin, who had previously performed with the orchestra as a guest pianist, has taken over the reins.

“I’m primarily a jazz composer and arranger, so it’s been nice to work things from beginning to end – starting with the concept of a concert, coming up with arrangements, working with guest artists,” Goodwin said. “It’s been a really amazing experience.”

The orchestra will take the stage at the Bing Crosby Theater on Friday night, and the evening’s concert will be a tribute to Crosby’s legendary career. Jazz vocalist Horace Alexander Young will appear alongside the orchestra, performing some of the crooner’s signature ballads.

“(The arrangements) are completely different than anything else we’ve done this year, more straight-ahead, old school arrangements,” Goodwin said. “There’s a certain approach to that; you have to be much more authentic.”

Friday’s Crosby tribute will be the third of four shows in SJO’s 41st season, which kicked off in September with a country-inspired concert showcasing vocalist Nicole Lewis. A Christmas program featured Nic Vigil of the local salsa band Milonga.

Goodwin said the guest artists are key to selecting arrangements for a given concert, since he forms the musical programs around their styles and chooses compositions that will best highlight their abilities.

“I try to make sure that whoever we bring in, we’re making them as comfortable and showing off their strengths as much as possible,” he said. “Our usual members are so talented – many of them have been in the group for years – that they can meld and blend to whatever we need to do.”

And now that he’s at the SJO’s helm, Goodwin said he aims to respect the traditions of the orchestra while introducing audiences to new styles and arrangements.

“I think it’s important for us to maintain and respect the history of the SJO,” Goodwin said. “Part of what we do has always got to draw from the different eras of jazz that made it as popular as it is. My wheelhouse is an amalgamation of all kinds of modern sounds, so I really love the idea of making what we do current. But I want to do that in such a way that we don’t lose our authenticity as a jazz ensemble.”

None of that would be possible without the orchestra, however, and Goodwin said he’s confident in the talents of the musicians under his direction.

“They’re the best around,” Goodwin said. “I trust that they’ll do whatever we need them to do, and I think they feed off the challenge.”