Hot Club of Spokane Swing Band from Spokane, WA

Hot Club of Spokane is an organization of musicians in Spokane, Washington dedicated to the preservation of jazz, swing, and blues. Founding members met for the first time not one mile from the Mission Swimming Pool, where almost a century earlier, Al Rinker recruited a happy-go-lucky character named "Bing" to play drums in his band called The Musicaladers. Al Rinker and Bing Crosby left Spokane in 1925, beckoned by Al's sister, Mildred Bailey, to join her in Los Angeles. Not five years later, these three "kids from Spokane" would become the featured acts in the biggest band in the nation, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Hot Club of Spokane plays music from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s including tunes from the catalogs of Mildred Bailey, Bing Crosby, Al Rinker, Django Reinhardt, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Louis Prima, and more. With over thirteen musicians on the roster, we can accommodate a variety of events, usually in ensembles of 7 or 8 at a time. We have two incredible lead vocalists - Rachel Aldridge and Abbey Crawford, and we also have a repertoire of tunes reminiscent of the Rhythm Boys, performing three part male vocal harmony. Our instrumentalists include Michael Harrison on trumpet, David Fague, Christopher Moyer, and Robert Folie on reeds, Steve Bauer on lead guitar, and Don Thomsen and Aaron Castilla on fiddle. Our rhythm section includes Kim Plewniak or Eugene Jablonsky on bass and Garrin Hertel (our bandleader) on rhythm guitar. Mark Stevens joins the band on gigs where drums are requested. We are happy to match our line-up to your needs, but we generally perform with one lead vocalist, trumpet, two saxes, lead guitar (or fiddle), bass, rhythm guitar, and drums (eight total). Hot Club of Spokane's musicians also perform regularly in other local music groups such as the Spokane Symphony and the Spokane Jazz Orchestra (the nation's longest running community organized jazz orchestra), and many are on faculty at local universities like Gonzaga and Whitworth. Hot Club of Spokane plays many weddings in Spokane at The Davenport Hotel and The Glover Mansion where the perfect balance between energy and elegance is required. We pride ourselves on uniting people of all generations together to celebrate life and community with great music, dancing, conversation, and exuberance. In some cases, where video equipment is available, we can also provide multimedia dimensions for your concert or event, with video and story-telling to accompany and/or augment the musical experience.