“It’s not Miles Davis, it’s not that kind of jazz … but good music is good music,” said Angelica Sanchez, a member of the Tony Malaby Trio.

The Tony Malaby Trio, an improvisational jazz music group, will perform at 7 p.m. today at The House, 263 E. Lincoln Highway.

The trio consists of tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, keyboardist Sanchez and Tom Rainey on the drums.

Andrew Strode, a senior musical performance major and president of the NIU chapter of the Illinois Association for Jazz Education, is eager to see the trio perform.

“To me, they are fantastic. We’re excited that they’re coming; they perform different music than what we’re traditionally taught out here,” Strode said. “It’s a different style of jazz.”

The trio said the type of jazz they perform may catch the audience by surprise; nothing, not even the compositions, are planned in advance. Yet, Malaby notes the trio know each other very well, making for tight-knit music.

“There is a language we develop. We’ve been playing together for seven years and we know each other’s next move. We try to know each other’s next move … we try to keep ourselves guessing,” Malaby said.

Malaby and Sanchez are married as well, adding to the intimacy of the group.

“It’s special, but it’s the same. It’s cooler because it’s a marriage in real life and a marriage in music,” Sanchez said.

Andy Gilfoil, a music performance major and treasurer of NIU’s chapter of the Illinois Association for Jazz Education, saw Malaby and Rainey perform in a different group, Mark Helias’ Open Loose Trio, during the 2002 spring semester. Gilfoil is looking forward to attending the performance.

“As a saxophonist, I’m attracted to the subtle vocal quality of Malaby’s sound, as well as his extremely unique improvisational style. Having heard Malaby and Rainey in the past, I’m also sure that the musical interchange between the two will be something wonderful and organic.”

Malaby, originally from Tucson, Ariz., has been a member of various jazz groups, and his debut album, “Sabino,” made The New York Times and Philadelphia City Paper’s top 10 jazz lists for 2000.

Sanchez, also from Arizona, released a debut recording, “Mirror Me,” that was on the top 10 JazzTimes Critics’ Picks list of 2003.

Rainey, born in Pasadena, Calif., has performed with various artists since 1979 such as Drew Gress and Ray Anderson.

The trio will conduct a workshop for the School of Music at 4 p.m today at the Music Building’s Recital Hall.

The trio also will perform at the Velvet Lounge, 2128 1/2 S. Indiana Ave., Chicago, on Friday.