Great Entertainment
Jazz is one of the most entertaining forms of live music, and big band jazz offers a special fullness of sound and energy. The Spokane Jazz Orchestra performances feature amazing solos and improvisation from highly accomplished musicians and talented guest artists. The music will draw you in, flow through you, put a smile on your face and keep you coming back.
Our 17-piece ensemble is made up of some of the best jazz musicians in the Northwest. More than half are college music professors. Several others are high school music teachers. A number of our musicians have played professionally in big band touring groups and other jazz orchestras, others play in the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. All are dedicated to sharing their love of jazz music and giving the audience a great experience at every concert.
Spokane Jazz Orchestra (SJO) concerts draw from the full range of jazz music – standards from icons like Count Basie and Duke Ellington – along with innovate arrangements of a wide range of music from pop to rock to bluegrass and more.
The season consists of four concerts: September, December, March and May, and begin at 7:30 pm.
Our Director, Don Goodwin
Dr. Don Goodwin leads an active life in music as a teacher, composer/arranger and performer. As a music educator, Dr. Goodwin taught at Eastern Washington University for 18 years, where he served as the director of bands. Don Goodwin’s award-winning arrangements and compositions have been performed and recorded by high schools, colleges, and professional organizations around the world, and many of his over 100 arrangements have been published with Gary Gilroy Music Publications, Walrus Music Publishing, ejazzlines, and Sierra Music Publications.
His performance career as a professional pianist and musical director includes extended engagements with The Bob Curnow Orchestra, The Tom Molter Big Band, and while in Seattle, Goodwin was a member of the popular funk/rock/jazz groups BeeCraft, Flowmotion, and LaPush, with whom he toured around the country. He has recorded dozens of albums with those and other professional groups, including Curnow’s most recent release which features arrangements of the music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays.
Currently, Goodwin can be heard with several groups performing around the region, including Organism, Milonga, Vibe Check, Josh Clauson of Flowmotion, and Wackamole.
Don Goodwin has served as Musical Director for the Spokane Jazz Orchestra since 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master in Composition from Eastern Washington University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in band conducting from the University of Kentucky. Goodwin is also an enrolled agent, and works in tax accounting with Maruji & Raines.
