The EIU Jazz Combos performed Tuesday night at the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

Student performers played in front of faculty, other students and people from the Charleston community.

The nearly hour-long concert consisted of the Vanguard Quintet, the Birdland Quintet and the Blue Note Quintet playing three songs each.

The concert began with the Vanguard Quintet. Members included Jacob Williams on the alto saxophone, Gabe Mansfield on the trumpet, flugelhorn and piano, Joey LoCascio on the guitar, Kathleen Kehoe on the bass and Corey Clark on the drums.

Williams, a sophomore computer information and technology major, says that he enjoyed getting to see other groups come together and play.

“People practice so much and they put so much into it,” he said. “Hearing everything come together was really nice.”

Both Williams and Mansfield both said their favorite song that they played during the performance was “St. Thomas” by Wayne Shorter. The song was a soft yet energetic piece with solos by Williams and LoCascio.

Mansfield, a senior history major, said that chemistry between the groups is “essential.”

“If something goes wrong, you got to have that sort of chemistry to be able to know what is going on,” he said.

Although he said it is important, Mansfield also went on to explain that chemistry is probably the main area they can approve in.

“Chemistry is probably a big one, just getting comfortable with each other and really getting in the groove of things,” he said.

The Birdland Quintet followed shortly after. Performers included Noah Chubb on the trumpet and flugelhorn, Ethan Hayward on piano, Preston Rice on the vibraphone, Jacob Pope on the bass and Chris Aghaei on the drums.

The quintet began with a romantic sounding piece called “Isn’t she Lovely?” by Stevie Wonder. This was followed by a song with a softer tone called “Poinciana” by Nat Simon. Their performance concluded with a faster piece called “Forecast” by Ben Williams.

The last group to perform was the Blue Note Quartet. The group consisted of Jackson Frosch on the guitar, Addie Bayer on the piano, Eliot Crispin on the bass and Conor Baltz on the drums.

The quartet began with a piece called “Blues for Bulgaria” by Peter Bernstein, followed by “Farmer’s Trust” by Pat Metheny, and concluded with “Jive Coffee” by Peter Bernstein.

Professor Paul Johnston said it was nice to hear them play.

“It was nice for them to have a chance to play what they have been working on for an audience,” he said. “As a teacher, it is really excited to see how your students progress.”

Johnston also said many of the performers work very hard for the performances, spending many hours a day practicing.

Tyler Lappin can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].