The sound of jazz will fill the Hermiston Conference Center on Sept. 10, as The Tom Grant Band with vocalist Shelly Rudolph opens the Desert Arts Council’s 25th anniversary season.

The show begins at 7 p.m. in a setting fit for the music Grant is known for.

“We’re doing a jazz club-like setting with a small dance floor for dancing, round tables and food,” event chairwoman Jordawn Wambeke said.

Wambeke said the council is looking forward to having Grant and Rudolph perform in Hermiston.

For Grant it’s the first time he and his band have been to Hermiston. In the past, the group has performed at the Wildhorse Casino and Resort in Pendleton.

Grant said his love for jazz came from his father and brother, the former being a vaudeville tap dancer and record store owner where he learned the different musical styles. Grant’s brother was an avant-garde jazz pianist.

“I saw (John) Coltrane and my brother lived with John Cherry,” Grant said. “Hearing their music has to a degree influenced what comes out of me.”

Grant began recording professionally in the 1970s after graduating from the University of?Oregon and spending short time as a teacher.

Since 1983, he has been at or near the top of Smooth Jazz charts with songs like, “In My Wildest Dreams,” “The View from Here,” and “Mango Tango” enjoying the number one spot.

Grant said the audience is welcome to dance and can expect a variety of music spanning his career from 80s and 90s, and material he and Shelly Rudolph have worked on collaboratively.

Hermiston High School will donate the use of the bistro tables for use at the concert.