When you think about a group of math professors performing some finger-twisting moves, you’d probably think a calculator is involved.

But the key-pounding these ACC math professors are doing is producing the smooth melodies of Dixieland jazz.

“The Numbers” comprises eight ACC math professors, a former staff member and a student who share a love and experience with music.

The band has performed together since last summer when the group’s founders, Associate Professor Don Lavigne and Professor Mike McCarthy, sent an email recruiting potential members.

“Since Austin is the live music capital, we wanted to get everyone together to play,” says Lavigne. He also had a gig in mind: Austin is hosting the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) Conference this month, and he hoped to form a group that could play at it.

The band since has performed at venues ranging from an ACC Math Department meeting to the Austin club Jovita’s. They are now preparing to perform at the AMATYC Conference.

“Everyone is committed to the band and loving it,” says Lavigne. “We are trying to encourage everyone from the Math Department to play.”

McCarthy says the band welcomes faculty or students who share their love for music – even the numbers-challenged. The band currently features Jeff Dietzel (saxophone); Edgar Fisher (drums, percussion, and vocal); Irie Glajar (drums and percussion); Julie Kostka (piano and vocal); Don Lavigne (trumpet); Mike McCarthy (banjo, guitar, and vocal); Wanda O’Connor (clarinet); and Ted Rachofsky (trombone.) The group also includes former ACC employee Mark Cain (tuba) and ACC student Jayson Jackoskie (trumpet).

“We’d welcome anyone who wants to join – we play big band, so it can be as big as we want to be,” says McCarthy.

Jackoskie, who is in his first semester at ACC, loved being in the band at Austin’s Lanier High School 12 years ago and jumped at the opportunity.

“I was ready to get back in to playing, and there’s a great selection of music the Numbers belt out,” says Jackoskie. “Couple of finger-twisters in there.”

It’s finger-twisters like “Do You Know How It Feels to Miss Orleans?” and “Basin Street Blues” that have captivated Lavigne since his childhood in New Orleans. He recalls going to Mardi Gras parades and falling in love with the sound.

“I’ve always wanted to play in a Dixieland band,” says Lavigne. “It took some 45 years and the help of my friends and colleagues in the ACC Math Department for me to finally realize my dream.”

Connecting music and math is another fascination for the band. Finding math professors with musical experience wasn’t a coincidence.

“In my mind, music, like everything in the world, is mathematical in nature and can be described mathematically using numbers, symbols, and equations,” says Lavigne. “I consider both mathematics and music to be art forms. Mathematics allows for the expression of logic and inference, while music is a wonderful means of emotional expression.”

The Numbers are scheduled to play during the 2011 ACC faculty and staff holiday party.