RACINE - Don't let the theater setting fool you into thinking that this is going to be a staid affair. The Jan. 31 opening concert of Jean's Jazz Series will be a Mardi Gras-inspired celebration designed to get the audience out of their seats and into the swing of things.

"We're going to do our own Fat Thursday (Mardi Gras is Fat Tuesday) right here in Racine," said series organizer Joe Mooney, who has been busy hanging banners and buying kazoos, hand cymbals, slide whistles and horns for the audience to play during the concert's "second line" parade (a New Orleans tradition).

There will also be "beads, beads and more beads" to get folks in the spirit, Mooney said. And, during intermission, the audience can enjoy compli-mentary Cajun-style desserts, courtesy of Mooney's daughter, Tricia, who is a pastry chef.

The biggest treat of the evening, however, will be the music provided by The Bourbon Street Stompers and Mama Digdown's Brass Band.

The Stompers, who will open the concert, are Wisconsin's premiere dixieland jazz band, which plays a mixture of traditional, 1950s-style dixieland, ragtime and novelty tunes, according to Mooney.

"They are just what we were looking for - a Pete Fountain-style, clarinet-led, New Orleans-style band," he said. "A bunch of guys playing good music that they love."

The second half of the evening will feature the New Orleans inspired sounds of Mama Digdown's Brass Band, a Madison-based group that has shared stages across the country and around with world with performers such as The Neville Brothers, Dr. John and The Dirty Dozen.

"They are one of the most often requested bands I've ever had perform," said Mooney, who also books entertainment for Racine's HarborFest.

Just as Racine audiences may remember this group from previous performances at both Jean's Jazz Series and HarborFest, members of Mama Digdown's have fond memories of their time in Racine.

"I have very distinct memories of playing Jean's Jazz," said Christopher "Roc" Ohly, the group's front man who has performed in many different venues throughout his 14 years with the band. "When the audience enjoys themselves, we enjoy ourselves and that made for a very memorable time in Racine."

Along with their unique combination of brass band and street beat sound, Mama Digdown's will bring some tunes from their newest CD (due out this summer) titled "Mojito" this time around. Their style of music, which has roots in gospel traditions, is uplifting and accessible, with a syncopated beat that makes people want to move, Ohly said. And carnival time is the best time of year to experience it.

"Mardi Gras season is our favorite time of year," he said. "We are really looking forward to it."

Afrobeat and more

The "Fat Thursday" celebration is one of three evenings that make up Jean's Jazz Series this year, as it marks its seventh season at the Racine Theatre Guild. The series, which is a collaborative project of the Theatre Guild and HarborFest, was created by Mooney in the fall of 2001 in memory of his wife, Jean, who died of ovarian cancer in June of that year. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Theatre Guild.

The second JJS concert, which will take place Feb. 28, will include a variety of jazz influences ranging from the smooth vocal style of Anita Stemper to the funk, rock and Afro-Cuban sounds of the Chicago Afrobeat Project.

Stemper, who will perform with Kenosha's Brian Ford Trio, will open the evening with what Mooney describes as her "soulful" singing. "I think she will be a perfect complement to the Chicago Afrobeat Project," he said.

For those who didn't catch the Chicago Afrobeat Project when they performed at Kenosha's Peanut Butter and Jam concert series this past summer, this is a band whose vision is to "breathe the intensity of Chicago's rich music scene into the infectious sounds of afrobeat."

What began with a bunch of musicians getting together in a loft on the West Side of Chicago back in 2001 has grown into a fluid combo of anywhere from seven to 12 performers - often including African dancers - who have performed more than 200 gigs on the road from California to New York City. Their Jean's Jazz show will mark their first time in Racine and they are hoping to bring dancers from Chicago's Muntu Dance Theatre Co. with them for the concert, according to Garrick Smith, sax player and founding member of the CAbP.

"We hope to bring as much of the family up with us to Racine as we can," Smith said.

Afrobeat, a musical genre named by Nigerian multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti, is a combination of Yoruba music, jazz, Highlife, funk rhythms and African percussion which was popularized in Africa in the 1970s.

"I tend to tell people that it is African rhythms and percussion mixed with James Brown," said Smith. "It is very friendly, danceable music."

Mooney, who first heard the CAbP at Milwaukee's Jazz in the Park series, said he not only loves their sound, but the visual performance they bring to the stage.

"They get very involved with the audience," he said. "I played their CD all the way home and I knew they were the right thing."

Spiritual sound

Last, but not least, Jean's Jazz will bring guitarist and composer John Moulder back to the stage on April 5 - this time to perform his crtically acclaimed "Trinty," which the Chicago Tribune named as one of the top 10 jazz CDs of 2006.

"Trinity" is a sacred concert for contemporary jazz ensemble that Moulder describes as "my musical interpretation of our journey in God from the primordial to the eternal." Moulder, who in addition to being a musician and educator is an ordained priest, composed the three-part work from 2000 and 2005.

"We try to bring in all different kinds of jazz," said Mooney. "And 'Trinity' will be different than anything we've done before. The music is just stunning. This is not a 'hit-you-over-the-head' kind of spiritual experience. This is sit back and enjoy the journey. It flows just perfectly."

If You Go

WHAT: Jean's Jazz Series 2008

WHERE: Racine Theatre Guild, 2519 Northwestern Ave.

WHEN: Jan. 31: The Bourbon Street Stompers and Mama Digdown's Brass Band; Feb. 28: Anita Stemper & the Brian Ford Trio, and the Chicago Afrobeat Project; April 5: John Moulder's "Trinity." All shows start at 7 p.m.

COST: Season tickets are $32 adults, $27 seniors (62 and older) and $15 students (21 and under). Tickets to individual concerts are $14 adults, $12 seniors and $5 students. Cash bar and gourmet coffee will be available at intermission, along with complementary desserts.

INFO: Visit http://www.jeansjazzseries.com or call (262) 633-4218.