The NIU Latin Jazz Ensemble will host an evening of Cuban and Brazilian jazz songs by celebrated Latin artists such as Celia Cruz and Jovino Santos Neto.

The performance will begin at 8 p.m. tonight in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building and is free and open to the public.

The event will also feature a performance by guest percussionist and composer N. Scott Robinson. Robinson, a noted artist, has performed on the Grammy Award-winning album “Harlem Renaissance” with the Benny Carter Big Band.

The NIU Jazz Ensemble has performed all over the world. They have shared the stage with a long list of well-known artists over the years, including Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente and Wynton Marsalis.

Robinson, who recently finished a three-city tour of Indonesia, will be at NIU from Friday to Sunday. Robinson will also perform with the NIU percussion ensemble and host several artist workshops this weekend.

The NIU Latin Jazz ensemble is now under the direction of visiting Assistant Professor Greg Beyer. The ensemble presently consists of Ihaji Hamden, Jacob Miguel, Robyn Sutton, David Rothenberg, Pat Jenkins, Micah Rutschman, Albert Strong, Hal Tsuchida and Jeremy Schmidt.

In previous years, the NIU Jazz Ensemble has been featured in various festivals and international conferences. In years past, the Jazz program’s students have performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, the Jazz à Vienne Festival in France and as Quincy Jones’ Big Band with guest artists such as Phil Collins and James Morrison.

For more information about the group, visit www.niu.edu/Music or contact Lynn Slater at 753-1546.