The NIU All-University Jazz Band will perform a variety of music at its fall concert on Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. at the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the NIU Music Building.

The NIU Jazz Band consists of 19 members, most are music majors. NIU Jazz Band director Robert Parton said, “I would say about 70 percent are music majors. We’ve got a couple business majors.”

Parton said, “We play a wide variety of different types of jazz. It ranges from the old big dance band era and a bit of the new big band music. I like to expose them to many different types of music.

“I want them to be able to play anything so they can interpret music properly. For example, if they went to play Glenn Miller music or to play with the Glenn Miller Band, they could interpret Glenn Miller properly. It’s important to me as a teacher,” Parton said.

The Jazz band will perform “Venus De Milo,” a piece written by Gerry Mulligan and transcribed by graduate assistant Tim Krause, who plays alto saxophone for the jazz band. The piece is from the cool jazz era, a music period during the 1950s. The piece is on an album entitled “Birth of the Cool” by Miles Davis, a famous jazz trumpet musician.

Other music includes a contemporary composition by Bob Brookmeyer entitled, “Ding Dong Ding.” This piece features piano player Huntley Brown, a transfer student from Judson College in the west suburbs.

A piece entitled “Late Taco” from the Woody Herman Library will feature Brown, Mike Ludovice, and Chris Goode. “Ballad for a Rough Year” by Frank Mantooth features Tim Krause on alto saxophone. Julie Bunt, the jazz band’s new vocalist, will sing a few jazz standards including “Watch What Happens.”