Dave Dustin has never been a big fan of reading – not music, anyway.

The Hopkinton Town Band member also plays the trombone in the Tall Granite Jazz Band, a group he founded that is dedicated to Chicago-style jazz and swing.

“I’ve always liked jazz because of the energy and the expression that’s possible in it. Part of it also is that it also seems more suited to my talent,” said Dustin. “I’m not the greatest reader of music in the world. I can always close my eyes and imagine the music, so improvisation has always come fairly easy to me.”

By day, Dustin works in Concord at Nobis Engineering, where he negotiates and administers contracts to the federal government, but upon leaving the office he turns to his trombone.

“I think that they’re probably not all that similar. Maybe they are in that they are fairly detailoriented,” he said. “I’ve always looked at music as a therapy and a refuge from the burdens, toil and strive of the day job and making a living. Music is my therapy, and it’s a very helpful one to have.”

Dustin said he enjoys the ability to rely on his other band members in order to put on a successful show.

“(The night of a concert) is a lot of excitement and anticipation, and you’re always glad when you look to either side of you and see a great group of musicians, sometimes with skills that exceed your own,” said Dustin. “You know you can rely on them.”

The jazz influence for Dustin came from his parents, who lived during the age of jazz and swing in the 1930s and 1940s. Dustin’s parents continued to listen to the music after he was born, and he was constantly exposed to it.

“When I was growing up, there was a lot of big band music in my house,” he said. “It just became something that was a real habit for me, and something I loved to listen to. I would fantasize about being a musician in those bands.”

Although Dustin said it can be harder to find venues to play at in New Hampshire, he said when you find the right spot there is no feeling like it.

“I really love it when we’re bringing some great music and great musicians together to make a joyful noise. I like it when the band is just cooking along and you can see that people are really enjoying the music,” he said. “It’s a bond between musicians, and a bond between the band members and the audience.”

You can listen to Dustin and The Tall Granite Jazz Band play at the Bow gazebo as part of the Bow Rotary Club’s summer concert series on Sunday, July 27, beginning at 6 p.m.

The Tall Granite Band is also scheduled to play Thursday, July 31, at Nonni’s Open House at the Concord Holiday Inn. The ballroom doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the band kicks off at 6:30 p.m.; and at the Beech Hill Farm and Ice Cream Barn in Hopkinton for the Hopkinton Congregational Church Rally Sunday picnic on Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The band will also play at the Eastern States Exposition, “The Big E,” in West Springfield, Mass., on New Hampshire Day, Friday, Sept. 19, at 5:30 p.m.