Fiery trumpet solos will highlight classics by Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong as the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band brings its distinguished reputation to Stephens Auditorium tonight.

John Faddis, premier trumpet player, is the founding music director.

The theme on the playbill for Thursday night is “Jazz Genius of the 20th Century” featuring works by Ellington and Armstrong.

The audience will hear the complete piece of “Black, Brown and Beige,” created by Ellington. The entire song has not been played since 1943, where it was performed in Carnegie Hall by Ellington himself. Bits and pieces of the song have been played by other bands, but in order for the entire piece to be played, it had to be transcribed from an original recording.

Dana Hall is a drummer and has been playing with the 16-member ensemble for two years. Hall says “Black, Brown and Beige” is his favorite composition.

“It showcases the strength of the ensemble. It draws out every part,” Hall said.

Hall mentioned that the band will also be playing “Chinatown,” which features a saxophone versus trumpet duel. He said that there will also be songs representing different periods of Armstrong’s compositions during the Big Band era, including “Swing That Music.”

Hall mentioned that there will be a few surprises that will require audience participation as well.

“That’s all I’m going to say about that,” he said, laughing.

Jon Faddis is the trumpet player behind the burning solos. The distinctive trumpet heard on “The Cosby Show” theme song also belongs to Faddis.

James Bovinette, ISU director of the jazz ensemble program and professor of trumpet, met Faddis in 1994.

“He’s a purist,” Bovinette said. “He’s also a premier trumpet player. The best in the business.”

Faddis is also known for his outreach of music education to students. He will be giving a workshop for high school jazz bands from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday at the Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall.

“He has a great sense of responsibility to the people watching and listening to him,” Bovinette said. “He believes in giving back to his audience. He’s willing to answer questions, work with kids and visit with the audiences. He’s great about it.”

Bovinette also said the band is unique because it understands the history behind the music.

“In order to play Duke Ellington, you need to have an inside understanding of how it’s suppose to be played,” Bovinette said.

The band has toured all over the world. It has played for the King of Thailand and at the JVC Jazz Festival in New York, not to mention a big top tent in Sarasota, Florida.

Hall recalled the amusing story.

“The theater that we were suppose to play at was under repair, so we played in a huge tent instead,” Hall said. “Here we were performing for a retirement community in a big circus tent.”

According to Sandy Clarke, contact person from the Iowa State Center, this will be the first time that Stephens will host the group.

Bovinette will host a pre-show discussion from 7 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in the Celebrity Cafe. It will mainly focus on Jon Faddis.