Membership in Jazz Band I is open to all students through an audition process held at the beginning of each semester. The group rehearses for a fifty minute period Monday through Thursday and gives frequent public performances.

The annual Bemidji State University Jazz Fest, which is in its 31st year, has featured many great jazz artists performing as soloists with Jazz I, including Rich Matteson, Bobby Shew, Frank Mantooth, Byron Stripling and Steve Houghton.

The group tours regionally each year and has performed in Mexico and Hawaii. Other performances include the annual Jingle Jazz Concert and a nostalgic look at the Big Band Era with the annual Remember When.