DECATUR - As a way to celebrate a 56th wedding anniversary, you could do a lot worse than live jazz, sunshine sparkling on Lake Decatur and good food.

The combination was working well Sunday afternoon for Decatur couple Pat and Jean Eva Smallwood, who were among the guests for the Symphony Orchestra Guild's Jazz in June event hosted at the Beach House in Nelson Park.

Today is their anniversary, but who's counting details when there was a chance to kick back and relax with some sumptuous music served fresh. "Oh, I love it, I love this music," Jean Eva Smallwood said. "I love it because it's American."

Her husband usually gets his jazz fix by listening to a specialist radio station out of St. Louis. He said the chance to hear it live, locally, was too good to miss.

Asked if he would be back to listen again if Jazz in June returns for an encore, Smallwood didn't miss a beat. "Absolutely," he said.

Which was music to the ears of the Symphony Orchestra Guild's Ways and Means Committee, the organizers of Jazz in June. A similar event was held dating back to the 1980s, but it used to be an evening show. The Guild, which stages fundraisers to support the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, decided to try some jazz in the daytime following the request of music fans.

About 80 people showed up to listen to Sunday's performance, which ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and cost $30 a head, including brunch. "It'll be a committee decision whether to have this again, but the response is encouraging," said Mary Anne Behnke, the committee's chairwoman. "We like to change around, to try different things."

The committee has to keep the money rolling. It aims to come up with about $55,000 a year to support the orchestra and pay for music scholarships and lessons for talented Macon County students. "And the more we raise, the more scholarships we can give," Behnke added.

Sunday's jazz came from a quartet headed by Steve Widenhofer on piano with Randy Reyman, trumpet; Andy Heise, bass; and Marc Widenhofer, drums.

Tony Reid can be reached at treid@herald-review.com or 421-7977.