November 22, 2004—The Oberlin Jazz Septet (OJS), an ensemble representing the most outstanding student performers, arrangers, and composers from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Oberlin College, will headline at the Cleveland Bop Stop Sunday, December 5. There is a $5 cover charge at the door.

The Cleveland Bop Stop, located at 2920 Detroit Avenue, began showcasing the jazz scene in 1991, and has featured such greats as the legendary Dave Liebman Group and virtuoso saxophone player Howie Smith. In December, the OJS will be billed with two other Oberlin jazz combos. On-site and street parking and wheelchair-accessible facilities are available. For more information, call 216-771-6551 or visit the Bop Stop's web site.

Members of the OJS are trombonist Ryan Snow '05 from Stanford, California, a student of Associate Professor of Jazz Trombone Robin Eubanks; guitarist Max Hellermann '05 from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a student of Associate Professor of Jazz Guitar Robert Ferrazza; percussionist Kassa Overall '06 from Seattle, Washington, a student of Assistant Professor of Jazz Percussion Billy Hart and Professor of Percussion Michael Rosen; pianist Phillip Jones II '06 from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, a student of visiting teacher of jazz piano Dan Wall; tenor saxophonist Matt Nelson '06 from Palo Alto, California, a student of Visiting Professor of Jazz Saxophone Gary Bartz; bassist Ben Purcell '06 from Detroit, Michigan, a student of Professor of Jazz Studies and Double Bass Peter Dominguez; and, on trumpet, Theo Croker '07 from Leesburg, Florida, a student of Visiting Professor of Jazz Trumpet Marcus Belgrave.

Formed annually, the OJS is made up of students nominated by the jazz studies faculty at the Conservatory, and their performance repertoire includes original compositions and arrangements of classic jazz.  In past years the OJS has been featured at the Detroit, Elmhurst, and Notre Dame jazz festivals as well as at many high schools and arts programs throughout the United States.

Prior OJS tours have successfully increased jazz studies exposure in important urban centers, brought Oberlin alumni together with advertised concerts, and provided the Conservatory with important recruitment of students from underrepresented communities.

This year's ensemble will travel to Aspen, Colorado, in January to participate in Jazz Aspen Snowmass's winter concert series and outreach program, visiting area schools to talk about—and demonstrate—their musicianship. In addition to Aspen, the OJS will perform at schools in Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Chicago.

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, founded in 1865 and part of the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is renowned internationally as a professional music school of the highest caliber and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Oberlin offers a premier undergraduate jazz studies program, chaired by Professor of African American Music Wendell Logan, that prepares students for careers as professional jazz musicians and for advanced study in jazz. The jazz studies faculty includes composers and performers who, in addition to teaching lessons and coaching ensembles, maintain active performing careers throughout the world. Numerous Oberlin alumni have achieved success in the jazz idiom, among them keyboardist Ted Baker, pianist and composer Stanley Cowell, bassist, composer, and arranger Leon Lee Dorsey, pianist, arranger, and producer Allen Farnham, bassist Ben Jaffe, composer and pianist Jon Jang, writer, composer, and saxophonist James McBride, and trumpeter, trombonist, and composer Michael Mossman.

For more information, visit Oberlin's web site.