Miller Concert Hall inside of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center wasn’t near half-full last night, but Wichita State’s Jazz Arts Ensemble came to play.

A few bands of four to five performers each played before the entire ensemble took the stage.

Thor and the Freshmen Four, Jazzheads and the Luke Young Quartet played a variety of jazzy tunes from some smooth blues to some up-tempo melodies.

Thor and the Freshman Four, named after drummer Thorton Bonner, and the other four freshmen performers that joined him were nervous about their first performance, as director Geoffrey Deibel pointed out.

That didn’t stop a freshman on the clarinet from ending their performance with a little improvisational ditty.

After the intermission, the Jazz Arts Ensemble took the stage lead by Deibel.

One of Deibel’s former students, Scott Taylor, said he is happy with the direction the jazz program is going.

“There’s been a lot of change in the program over the past years,” Taylor said. “It’s cool to come back and see people that were professors and are now friends conduct my former classmates. Geoff Deibel has been great. He’s smart. He’s forward-thinking. It’s cool to see what they’re doing now.”

The ensemble’s second song, “Chickenfeed,” was highlighted by some great play on the xylophone.

“Chickenfeed” was followed by the song “Honeybee” which featured Ian Sentry on the drumset, a new drummer this year.

Next, the ensemble played the “ABC Blues,” a song originally by Bob Brookmeyer.

The “ABC Blues” featured multiple solo performances from the saxophone to drums to piano and some trumpets.

The song was stolen by the lone female member of the ensemble, Janelle Garden. During Garden’s solo, she bobbed her head side to side while finishing off her performance with a round of applause from the audience.

Haley Ensz, a high school student taking classes at WSU, said she attended the concert to see a friend perform. She said she is more into visual arts than music.

“I love listening to jazz,” Ensz said. “It’s really relaxing.”