Cool blue jazzy saxophones, trombones sliding smoothly in and out from their cases, and an urgent rousing summons from the trumpets play actively with the piano, bass and Stan’s drums, not just any tune, but tunes from the past 50 years.

This is not the latest carnival band arriving in town. It is the 14 piece Stan Fornaszewski Orchestra with the big band sounds of American music making a stop in Carbondale to play the Sunset Concert tonight at Turley Park.

Based out of St. Louis, Fornaszewski started his big band at the age of 16 and has continued playing with considerable success over the last 17 years. With two albums and considerable air play, the band has worked up a following.

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That is what is so good about big band, it covers so many styles, he said. Whether your favorite big band songs are sweet, swing, old style or contemporary jazz, we will have a song for you.

Fornaszewski said he started playing his first instrument at two years of age and has mastered every instrument there is except for the electric guitar. Being so musically inclined, he started a band that could play a wide instrumentation range.

Big bands are musical, he said. With that combination (number of instruments) we can play anything, big band or smaller.

The orchestra plays thousands of tunes that smaller bands cannot play because the smaller the band, the less instrumentation it has.

There is no way (smaller bands) can get that sound. They don’t have enough fingers, Fornaszewski said.

Playing pop, the band’s own music and classic big band tunes, Fornaszewski said the band’s favorite place to perform is in the park concert atmosphere.

It is more intimate between the audience and the band, he said.

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Using the comparison of Fornaszewski’s concert to going to a major league baseball game or to the minors, he said it is the same game but you can see the view a lot better at the minors. Hence, you will catch a lot more action at a park concert than at an arena.

People into the music want to feel the sound of the big band, he said.

Park concerts are for all ages, regardless of music tastes.

Fornaszewski said the band is trying to present the biggest era of music to the audience the best they can and in the process, make it to the top.

A lot of people think we are trying to bring them back, he said. The big band has never left, music is non-perishable.

A song written 50 years ago is still the same.