James Stanford describes the EIU Jazz Lab Band practices as tough but fun.

The band practices every Tuesday and Thursday for the minimum two concerts it plays each semester.

“It’s intense, but it’s laid back,” Stanford, junior music education major and first trombone player for the Lab Band said. “It’s a fun time.”

Stanford contributes to the fun of practices through his interest in jazz music, according to director Paul Johnston.

“Mr. Johnston has a good sense of humor, and he knows what he’s talking about,” Stanford said.

Stanford enjoys playing with the other 17 musicians, who are not all music majors, and is glad that he was picked to play in the Lab Band.

“It gives me a chance to play the music I like to play and express feelings,” he said.

At the beginning of the year auditions were held and students were placed in different bands within the music department.

Stanford said that being placed in a band that plays music he enjoys was exciting especially that he got first trombone.

The Lab Band’s second concert is at 7:30 p.m. today in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

“This is an opportunity to share what we have been working on with others,” Johnston said. “I enjoy working with the students and seeing improvement with the selections we perform.”

Sam Fagaly, director of jazz studies, will be featured at the concert as he plays tenor saxophone alongside the 18 students in the band.

“The concert will feature a wide range of musical styles,” Johnston said. “It will include some jazz classics and selections with funk and rock grooves.”

Some of the arrangements the band will play include “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” “Girl Talk” and “Jive Samba.”

The attendance at the concerts is typically community members, families and a few students.

“There’s a fair amount,” Stanford said of the student attendance.

Stanford said he thinks student attendance is low because many students might not understand jazz music.

Students might associate jazz to music that their parents or grandparents listen to and do not quite understand what jazz really is, he said.

Despite only a handful of students, Stanford likes to see their attendance.

“It gives a feeling of being appreciated by your peers,” he said.

Johnston also likes seeing student and community attendance at the concerts.

“We often have strong support from the Eastern and Charleston communities,” he said. “I think concert-goers enjoy hearing good music and seeing what the band has been working on.”