Wycliffe Gordon and Cyrus Chestnut, old friends and kindred musical souls, met for an evening of truly original music Thursday night at the Lawrence Arts Center.

The performance was the third of five concerts in the arts center’s inaugural jazz series.

Trombonist Gordon and pianist Chestnut hadn’t performed as a duo before, though they had played in various big bands and jazz ensembles together in the past. The resulting freshness of their collaboration — 30 minutes of rehearsal time and a list of mutually known songs being the extent of their preparation — was disarmingly charming while delivering the musical goods.

“We’re just having a conversation up here,” Chestnut said, explaining to an enthusiastic audience the give-and-take method behind improvisatory playing.

The conversation began with a Duke Ellington standard, “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” Gordon is a gregarious player, much-lauded for his plunger work on trombone — and with good reason. On the opening chart, he displayed a practiced knack for spicing up a well-known tune with all the muted trimmings. But perhaps equally enjoyable was Gordon’s penchant for singing and scatting his way through an occasional chorus. His warm, flexible voice is an easy extension of his primary instrument.

The second piece of the evening was a lovely rendition of “Amazing Grace.” On this tune, Gordon’s mellow playing almost had the crackle of a rainy-day LP running underneath it, and Chestnut, an accomplished soloist and sought-after sideman, offered lyrical and rhythmic support with a distinct voice of his own. Both musicians had some of their best moments when the embellishments cooled and gave way to a relatively unadorned melody.

Other highlights of the concert included the gospel hymn “I’m Gonna Lay Down My Burden (Down By the Riverside)” and Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.” And the fantastic and impromptu “scat-off” between Gordon and Chestnut during the performance’s second half would have made Jelly Roll Morton proud.

The jazz men also gave solo performances, with Chestnut delivering a gorgeous, color-drenched ballad and Gordon getting funky with a trombone tribute to vocal sounds. He promptly titled the new creation “Lawrence, Kansas, Improvisatory Groove No. 1.,” which elicited appreciative applause from the crowd.

Both musicians seemed to enjoy interacting with the audience between tunes, mostly poking fun at their own off-the-cuff approach.

The final song of the evening — after some comical debate by Gordon and Chestnut — was “America the Beautiful.” It was a fitting close to the concert (an upbeat, one-song encore followed), allowing Gordon and Chestnut to just play.

Nimble fingers on a keyboard and trombone-slide histrionics are without doubt worth considerable merit, but the ability to also translate feeling into notes is a special skill.

End of conversation.

Lisa Schmitz is a graduate student in journalism at Kansas University. She can be reached at lschmitz@ku.edu.