So, you think you're cool?

Cool enough to jam with some of the finest jazz musicians Penn State has to offer? Cool enough to play with some of today's most prominent jazz musicians? Cool enough to belt out Duke Ellington tunes with the best before you're out of high school?

Kaitlyn Lusk is cool enough.

Lusk doubles as a student at State College Area High School and a teenage jazz dynamo.

She will be featured along with saxophonist David Stambler and pianist Jon Werking in today's Centre Dimensions jazz concert at Esber Recital Hall.

The biannual concert includes selections from jazz legends Ellington and Buddy Rich, and an original by the band's director and Penn State music professor Dan Yoder.

"Jazz is America's true uniquely American art form, so it should be heard," Yoder said.

In addition to the high-profile guests the concert offers, Penn State students will be performing their own improvised solos, including those by two students in their final concert.

Matt Clauhs (senior-music education) and Drew Menzies, a graduate student, will be featured soloists.

"For both of us, it's an honor he would let us have a feature tune," Clauhs said. "It'll give us an opportunity to demonstrate how we've grown in our years in the band."

Mark Lusk, a trombone professor and Kaitlyn Lusk's father, said it is important for Penn State students to see the concert because it is an opportunity often taken for granted.

"Centre Dimensions has proven that they're one of the better jazz bands in the country, and I think it's important for the student body to understand that and take advantage of that," Mark Lusk said.

He also mentioned the benefits of seeing a young jazz vocalist such as his daughter perform in a concert like this one.

"The chance to hear this young lady, whose career has been so remarkable in the last year and a half, it's a pretty great opportunity to hear that," Mark Lusk said.

Although the task of balancing a high school student's life with being a hard-working musician may seem daunting, Kaitlyn Lusk said she takes it on with open arms.

"I want to do high-school things, but I wouldn't trade it," she said. "I think the great part is having fun. What's so great about being a performer and a singer is that I really thrive for it. It definitely takes a lot of balance with my friends. This is something I love to do, and I work hard at it."

Besides Kaitlyn Lusk, two other guests will perform with the band.

David Stambler, a saxophonist, and Jon Werking, a prominent jazz pianist and Lusk's director, bring their wealth of experience to the performance.

Werking has worked with Rich, one of the renowned jazz musicians the band is honoring in the concert.