Preview: Jazz in the Air at Branford Green Tonight

Jazz in the Air bandleader and songwriter Bob Sabourin is carving a career out of translating personal stories into a special, genre-bending brand of jazz that is simultaneously upbeat, musically inventive and fun to listen to. The quartet -- bassist Sabourin, pianist Shinichi Otsu, saxophonist Ririka Tokushigi and drummer Barry Lit -- will take their music to Branford tonight as the third featured performer in the Jazz on the Green series.

"We distinguish ourselves by playing many different forms of jazz," says Sabourin. He says the band is flexible in a wide variety of genres, from big band and swing to R&B and funk. (In his songwriting, Sabourin draws from both jazz and his love of classic and contemporary R&B to tell stories.)

"But the music I compose tends to be, almost all of it, upbeat and positive. And that's just where I am in life."

And Sabourin has a reason to be happy. Jazz in the Air will be performing songs from their soon-to-be-released album Special Place, an album Sabourin describes as full of "love and romance," many of them relating to his long, happy relationship with his wife. One track, "Caribbean Breeze," tells the story of a tour of the Caribbean with his wife.

"Another is about taking someone for granted," Sabourin says. "One day I was thinking about my relationship with my wife and how different it would be if she was gone -- how much I rely on her. So I wrote a song called 'I Took You for Granted.'"

When it comes to their professional track record, Jazz in the Air have plenty to be happy about as well. The band has made a name for themselves in the Boston area, playing well-known area venues like the Northeast Convention Center and the Worcester DCU Center. But their biggest gig may have come in 2010, when they performed at a birthday party for former president George H. W. Bush in Kennebunkport, Me.

The group grew out of jam sessions with the members and a variety of Boston-area vocalists about six years ago. While the band works with three vocalists -- Cassie Lynne Griffith, Mari Martin and Tony Gallo -- they'll be performing for Branford jazz fans as an instrumental quartet.

Check out their website to hear samples of Jazz in the Air's work, including tracks from their first four albums and their most recent album, Special Place.