Carbondale’s own Groove Merchants will hawk their inventory of jazz, Latin, salsa and funk grooves tonight at Barnes & Noble as they challenge listeners to expand their musical interests in a mellow alternative to area night life.

Bassist and vocalist Beth Tryon said the small and soothing setting of Barnes & Noble, 1300 E. Main St., is an appealing to the Groove Merchants, but space limitations call for downsizing the band’s typical six-member line up.

Because of the smaller setting of Barnes & Noble, our full six-piece would not fit into the space and the full sound would blow everyone out the door, she said. So, we will be playing a very relaxed and mellow set of music.

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Though the setting may be confined, the local band has high expectations for the atmosphere and audience of the bookstore.

We hope [the audience] enjoys the music as well as the ambiance, Tryon said.

Through that ambiance, the group plans to capture the attention of the audience with the laid-back tunes assembled by Tryon’s bass and vocals, her husband Ted Petith on tenor saxophone and percussionist Ted Hensold.

[Barnes & Noble] is a relaxing environment, which is helpful in trying to get away form the craziness of the bar scene, said Matt Friedman, a junior in public relations from Northbrook.

The Groove Merchants are preparing an array of new songs for the performance as well as popular tunes from their compact disc, Mr. Fix-It.

The group has been practicing and things are going very well, Tryon said. My husband has some new and original funk tunes we are attempting. Some things are from the CD and some are not.

Barnes & Noble’s Community Relations Consultant Susan Parrish said the band’s performance is highly anticipated.

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The group is very professional, and the perception from our general manger is that they are very good, she said.

FACTOID:Admission to the Groove Merchants show is free. For information, call (618) 351-0404.