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MARQUETTE -- Jimmy Almen can often be found belting out tunes while tickling the keys, performing songs that are at once soothing and familiar.

"The music that we play comes right out of the American songbook,” explained the leader of the Jimmy Almen Trio.  “It's standards."

With just the keyboard, accordion, bass and drums, his band has been taking listeners around the U.P. back to an era when greats like Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra reigned supreme.

"The people know the music,” Almen said.  “They've heard it all their lives . It's well written, and it holds up.  That's why it's still around."

Music, this performer of forty years believes, is grabbing the ears of a new generation.  "It's still cool to this day.  The young people coming out of the college; they just love it!  It's a cross between bebop, jazz, and early rock.”

If you're looking to take a walk down memory lane, you can catch the Jimmy Almen Trio at Upfront and Company in Marquette on Thursday night from 6 to 9 p.m.