Four combos and two big bands will perform at the Jazz Ensemble Showcase Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Doudna Fine Arts Center Theater.

The four combos are the Apollo Quintet, Vanguard Quartet, Blue Note Sextet, and the Birdland Quintet. Each combo will perform one song each.

The two big bands are the Jazz Lab Band and the EIU Jazz Ensemble. Each big band will perform three songs.

Dave Fink directs two of the four jazz combos. Fink said he wants his musicians to have a good time playing the music.

“We spend so much of our time in the classroom trying to master our craft, taking everything serious,” Fink said. “But what it’s all about is just getting it out there and putting on the concert and making music. Enjoy doing that.”

Paul Johnston, director of the Jazz Lab Band and the other two combos, said he wants the audience to know what the students have been working toward.

Johnston said he picked a wide variety of jazz tunes to keep the show interesting.

“I hope folks enjoy the event and that they appreciate the talents of Eastern students,” Johnston said.

Johnston said a showcase this early in the semester is a good learning experience for the students.

“They’ve been working hard on all this music so it’s great for them to have the opportunity to perform in front of an audience,” Johnston said. “That always adds a good dynamic.”

Johnston said the showcase is also a good opportunity to show the public what the musicians have been working on in the past four weeks.

Sam Fagaly, director of Jazz Studies, conducts the Jazz Ensemble.

Fagaly said the showcase is being held early in the semester to jump-start the ensembles and to get them in front of an audience early.

He said some high schools take longer than four weeks to prepare a concert, so some students are not used to the fast-paced preparations.

“None of the groups are going to be performing a lot,” said Fagaly. “They’re just going to do a couple things each so I hope (the audience) just get(s) a nice overview of what the program has to offer and then later on when they see there’s a concert by the lab band, they’ll know what that is, and the combos and so on.”

Fagaly said each group will have the opportunity to perform longer sets later in the semester.

Tunes will consist of pieces by George and Ira Gershwin, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Les Hooper and more.

Kacie Berry can be reached at 581-7943 or [email protected].