Ellington

Every Thursday and Friday at The Auditorium in Fondren, Thomas "Tiger" Rogers connects with the lunch crowd through his saxophone. When people enter the restaurant, he says he automatically knows what to play to make them feel good.

"If a soldier comes in, I make a mental note to be sure to play something patriotic for him, and I will salute him from the stage," Rogers says.

Rogers, 28, a Jackson native and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, says his love for the saxophone began when he was young and saw Robert Townsend performing live on television.

Not long afterward, Rogers began playing for his church, Faith Community Fellowship Church, and joined the band at Whitten Middle School. Those experiences fostered Rogers' natural talent that has since grown into a recording career. He produced his yet-to-be-released debut album, "A Long Way From Home," with Indigo Sound Records while in San Jose, Calif., this year during a two-year stint there.

Rogers says the experience took him on a musical journey, influenced by the different sounds and cultures he experienced while in San Jose. He describes the album as a textural experience that takes the listener from an easy-listening starting point into a voyage of different musical sounds.

Back home in Jackson, many of his fans' curiosity is piqued because the musician never speaks directly to the audience. "My instrument speaks for me," he says.

Hear Thomas "Tiger" Rogers at The Auditorium, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.