Veteran and budding musicians, simple duos, big bands and even musically gifted chemical engineering professors take part in Jazz in July.

The series of 36 concerts celebrating central Iowa artists is sponsored by Des Moines area businesses.

Overall, Jazz in July attendance could reach 22,000 this year, said Tracy Levine, executive director of the Metro Arts Alliance. She said 225 musicians will play Dixieland, bebop, new age and other jazz forms.

“Ordinary music lovers and traditional jazz lovers will like it,” she said.

The schedule includes young bands, such as the CJC Combo, a teen-age group, Levine said. It also includes seasoned musicians.

“How many other cities can say they have something like that?” said Ken Jolls, professor of chemical engineering and a regular Jazz in July performer.

Jolls has played the keyboard and the vibra harp, an instrument similar to a xylophone, for 50 years and began playing for Jazz in July in 1985.

“It’s something I really look forward to,” he said.

This year his quintet played the first concert for Jazz in July. The quintet includes himself, a bass player, a singer, a drummer and a saxophone player.

“We play traditional modern jazz, ’50s and ’60s,” Jolls said.

Jolls said playing the opening concert of the series was special.

“It’s one of the leading jazz activities in the area,” he said.

But not everyone is a regular at Jazz in July. This year marks the debut Jazz in July for bass player Ed Kaizer, who teaches jazz improvisation lessons and coaches combos.

Kaizer’s trio consists of himself playing bass, a guitarist and a singer. Classic jazz, like Duke Ellington, with a heavy emphasis on improvisation, is his trio’s style, Kaizer said.

The band plays ason through once or twice and then improvises, Kaizer said.

“We’re trying to be composers on the spot,” he said.

The Ed Kaizer Trio will play at the Blank Park Zoo July 26.

These concerts are held to expose everyone to jazz and to involve everyone in the local arts, Levine said. The performances are intended to be entertaining and educational.

For the benefit of individuals not familiar with jazz, Levine asks musicians to talk about their style of music with the audiences.

“We are constantly trying to educate. I think once they understand, people feel more comfortable and jazz becomes more accessible,” Levine said.

Kaizer said his band will probably do a great deal of talking for its Jazz in July performance.

“We’ll try to get the audience to listen to it in a different way,” he said.

Whether or not people are artists, being an art lover is enriching, Levine said.