The EIU Jazz Combos will give their first concert of the season on Tuesday.

Audience members can expect to hear compositions by John Coltrane, J.J. Johnson and familiar favorites of older generations, said Paul Johnston, faculty director of jazz combo one.

Three jazz combos will be performing. Combos two and three, composed of mainly younger undergraduate students, are directed by graduate student Travis Wesley. Combo one is a little more experienced, being composed of graduate students, Johnston said.

The difference between the combos and the jazz ensemble is the size, said Dan Crews, director of publications for the College of Arts and Humanities. The Jazz Ensemble can be 12 to 14 members. Combos are smaller groups, with usually four or five members, he said.

Combos usually meet once or twice a week to practice, Johnston said.

“The jazz program is really good here at Eastern,” Crews said. “They are one of the best jazz groups you can hear in East Central Illinois.”

The EIU Jazz Ensemble and the EIU Jazz Combo One performed last February at the 37th annual College Jazz Festival in the Chicago area and did very well, Johnston said.

“People can expect to hear a variety of different music,” he said.

This hour-and-a-half concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. The performance is free and open to the public.