Will Scruggs is no stranger to The Arts Council's Evenings of Intimate Jazz series.

"I knew that it was a fun series having played it before — I really enjoyed the audience and the atmosphere," Scruggs said.

The young saxophone player made his debut at the series during the 2004-2005 season as a horn player in the Kayla Taylor Quintet.

But this year, Scruggs will kick off the series with his own band, The Will Scruggs Jazz Fellowship.

Pianist Louis Heriveaux, bassist Tommy Sauter and drummer Wayne Henderson will join Scruggs for the first performance of the Arts Council’s jazz series on Friday evening at the Arts Council’s Smithgall Arts Center.

Scruggs has a diverse jazz repertoire that ranges from funky jazz jams with the Dirty Dozen and Rebirth Brass Bands to mellow tunes as a back-up player for eight-time Grammy Award winner Natalie Cole’s latest album, "Leavin’."

Scruggs, who began playing the saxophone when he was 8, said in his own music, he tries to strike a balance between the old jazz classics and a progressive sound that’s all his own.

"When I write music, I tend to write a little bit more modern kind of things, trying to have my own voice," he said. "That’s always a goal as a jazz musician — to pay homage to the history of the music and the greats that have come before, but also to move the music in a forward direction and keep it alive."

But Scruggs said he will perform some of his original songs off his new album, "BlueBari Jam," at the Evenings of Intimate Jazz performance that take a more traditional approach to jazz. His album was released in October.

"I’m trying to crack the top 50 jazz charts," Scruggs said. "Right now I’m at 58, just kind of on the waiting list, knocking on the door, on really getting some notoriety for this record."

He said the title-track on "BlueBari Jam" features the baritone sax, an instrument that Scruggs finds himself playing more often.

"It’s kind of a unique thing ... it’s not that there aren’t bari players out there, but it’s much less common than tenor sax," he said. "So it’s kind of fun to do something that’s a little bit different, a little bit adventurous. And I’ve tried to step out as more of a bari and tenor player on my new CD."

Scruggs said the performance in Gainesville will be a great opportunity to feature songs from his new album.

As a 27-year-old graduate of the music program at Emory University, Scruggs said his experience there was a great way to get him involved with the music scene in Atlanta.

He describes the Atlanta jazz scene as a growing one.

"It’s a great place to be because there are a lot of really talented musicians in the Atlanta area," he said. "It can be difficult, on the other hand, because there’s not quite the same level of appreciation for jazz, especially in Atlanta, as some other major cities like New York or Washington, maybe Chicago. Places like that have a little bit more history where the community embraces the music.

"In Atlanta, we have to work a little bit harder for that."

Scruggs said he credits Gainesville, and Brenau University’s radio station WBCX-FM 89.1, as one of the primary places in Georgia that really promotes Atlanta musicians.

He said he likes the Gainesville jazz series in particular because it offers groups a chance to be showcased as performers, where the crowd is really aware of what’s going on and is responsive.

"That’s one of the neat things about the concert series and one of the reasons that I was excited to make the trip up and really make it happen," he said. "So it’s kind of a neat place to play because even though it’s kind of a smaller town, there are folks up there who really work hard to help jazz musicians."

He added that it’s the opportunities to perform live that really excite him as a jazz artist, and during his performances he draws inspiration from his favorite sax player — John Coltrane.

"That’s a person that I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from both musically and spiritually," Scruggs said. "Because his music was so deep on so many levels, not just from an incredible technical standpoint, but he really was speaking in a powerful way with his music. And I really try to make my performances mean something. I try to leave an audience with a good feeling, a positive feeling, a feeling of peacefulness.

"I think music should have a purpose. It should uplift and it should bring people together," Scruggs added. "And I really learned a lot from Coltrane on that aspect."