There will be singing, and there will be scatting.

The Remake The World (RTW) Veteran Center is looking to transform its newly opened space, featuring a theater at 854 W. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, into a jazz hub.

Beginning in April, the RTW Veteran Center will become center stage for the first in a series of GI Jams.

“Jazz is going to be there every month,” Founder Daniel Habeel said. “It’s going to be the place for jazz.”

GI Jam will take place on Thursdays next month, except for April 16 and April 23. All sessions will kick off at 6 p.m. at the RTW Veteran Center.

The events, which will be open to the community, are free to join. Veterans are encouraged to drop in.

GI Jam is made possible due to a new partnership between the RTW Veteran Center, the Griffin Institute of Performing Arts, and the NIU Jazz Studies Department

Habeel said the idea behind the events is to give young musicians the chance to be exposed to and play with professional musicians.

Next month’s events will also mark the grand opening of the RTW Veteran Center’s Liberty 250 Theater, which has been lauded by Habeel as both a cultural and educational space honoring the nation’s pursuit of liberty.

Habeel said he’s been giving some thought to what role the center can play in the city’s commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“They drafted me into this America250 DeKalb [committee], they drafted me into that committee,” he said. “I was sitting in a meeting, one of those meetings, and it came to me – the name, the theater. ... In the 250th anniversary of America is when we opened the theater."

Habeel’s own music experience started earlier in his life.

Growing up, Habeel said his father, who was a World War II veteran, put him and his siblings in music education.

Habeel played a variety of woodwind instruments, including saxophone, oboe, and flute.

Habeel expressed excitement about the new events.

“Some of the greatest records that [have] ever been recorded [were] recorded from jam sessions because it’s impromptu,” Habeel said.

The center intends to start hosting jazz brunches on a regular basis in the future.

Habeel said he believes the center is filling a great need in the community.

“There’s no place for jazz lovers in DeKalb to go to,” Habeel said. “This is their place to come and hear jazz at the veteran center.”

Habeel said he hopes people check out the veteran center and what it has to offer.

Anyone interested in joining in on the GI Jam is encouraged to bring their own instrument.