January 10, 2006—The Oberlin Jazz Septet (OJS), an ensemble representing the most outstanding student performers, arrangers, and composers from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College, embarks January 16 on a tour of seven cities in the eastern and southeastern U.S.

The OJS will perform in Richmond, Virginia, as part of the Richmond Jazz Society’s Guest Educator Series, and visit Huguenot High School for an outreach exchange with students. In Washington, D.C., they will appear at DC Twins Jazz and perform outreach at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. In Philadelphia, they will perform at Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus, named one of the top 50 jazz clubs in the U.S. by Downbeat magazine. They will also visit the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. In Durham, North Carolina, they will visit the Durham School of the Arts and give a performance at the school’s Weaver Auditorium. They will also visit the North Carolina School of the Arts at Winston-Salem. In Jacksonville, Florida, they will appear at the Café Bolero—where proceeds from their concert will benefit Sickle Cell Children of Jacksonville—and visit the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. At the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and site of last year’s Montreux-Atlanta Music Festival, the OJS will share the bill with Gwen Hughes and her trio. They will also visit Henry W. Grady High School. The last stop on the tour, Louisville, Kentucky, will have them performing at the Jazz Factory and visiting the Youth Performing Arts School.

The members of the OJS are nominated each year by the jazz studies faculty at Oberlin. This year they are: trombonist Allie Bosso ’06 from Simsbury, Connecticut, a student of Associate Professor of Jazz Trombone Robin Eubanks; saxophonist Johnny Butler ’06 from Seattle, Washington, a student of Visiting Professor of Jazz Saxophone Gary Bartz; guitarist Andrew Conklin ’06 from Wyndmoore, Pennsylvania, a student of Associate Professor of Jazz Guitar Robert Ferrazza; trumpeter Theodore Croker ’07 from Leesburg, Florida, a student of Visiting Professor of Jazz Trumpet Marcus Belgrave and grandson of the legendary trumpet player Doc Cheatham; drummer Charles Foldesh ’07 from Prescott, Arizona, a student of Assistant Professor of Jazz Percussion Billy Hart and Professor of Percussion Michael Rosen; pianist Sullivan Fortner ’08 from LaPlace, Louisiana, a student of visiting teacher of jazz piano Dan Wall; and double bassist Curtis Ostle ’06 from Chevy Chase, Maryland, a student of Professor of Jazz Studies and Double Bass Peter Dominguez, who also directs the OJS.

In past years the OJS has been featured at the Detroit, Elmhurst, and Notre Dame jazz festivals, at performance venues in Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver, and at Jazz Aspen Snowmass, and at many high schools and arts programs throughout the United States. Their performance repertoire includes original compositions and arrangements of classic jazz.

Jazz at Oberlin
The jazz studies program at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music is one of the most popular majors at Oberlin and contributes significantly to the richness and diversity of the Conservatory and the overall campus. In December 2005, Oberlin College received what is believed to be the largest gift ever given specifically for the support of jazz education at a college in the United States—$5 million from Cleveland businessman and Oberlin alumnus Stewart Kohl and his wife, Donna.

Oberlin incorporated jazz into the Conservatory’s curriculum in 1972 and began offering a major in jazz studies in 1989. Today it is one of the premiere undergraduate jazz studies programs in the U.S., preparing students for careers as professional jazz musicians and for advanced study in jazz. The jazz studies faculty includes composers and performers who maintain active jazz careers in addition to teaching lessons and classes and coaching ensembles. 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 of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, composer and pianist Jon Jang, writer, composer, and saxophonist James McBride, and trumpeter, trombonist, and composer Michael Mossman.

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, founded in 1865 and situated within the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Renowned internationally as a professional music school of the highest caliber and pronounced a “national treasure” by the Washington Post, Oberlin’s alumni have gone on to achieve illustrious careers in all aspects of the serious music world. For more information about jazz at Oberlin, please visit the Conservatory's web site.

Oberlin Jazz Septet Tour Schedule
Richmond, Virginia
Tuesday, January 17 at Emilio’s Restaurant Español
1847 West Broad Street (corner of Broad and Meadow)
7 - 9 p.m.
Part of Richmond Jazz Society’s Guest Educator Series
Tickets: $8 general public, $5 for supporters with an RJS ID card.
For more information, call the Richmond Jazz Society at 804-643-1972 or visit http://www.vajazz.org

Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, January 18 at D.C. Twins Jazz
D.C. Twins Jazz
1344 U Street NW
8 p.m. to Midnight
Tickets: $5 admission added to customer tab ($10 food/drink minimum)
For more information, call Twins Jazz at 202-234-0072, or visit http://twinsjazz.com/

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thursday, January 19 at Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus
847 North 3rd St. (at Poplar)
8:30 p.m. - closing
No Admission Charge ($10 food/drink minimum)
For more information, call Ortlieb’s at 215-922-1035 or visit http://ortliebsjazzhaus.com

Durham, North Carolina
Tuesday, January 24 at the Durham School of the Arts
Weaver Auditorium
400 North Duke St.
7:30 - 9:30 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION

Jacksonville, Florida
Friday, January 27 at Café Bolero
Café Bolero
8595 Beach Blvd
Sets beginning at 8, 9, and 10 PM .
Tickets: $10 general public; $5 students and seniors.
Proceeds benefit Sickle Cell Children of Jacksonville
For reservations and information, call 904-504-2763

Atlanta, Georgia
With the Gwen Hughes Trio
Monday, January 30 at 14th Street Playhouse
14th Street Playhouse
Woodruff Arts Center
173 14th Stree
8 p.m.
Tickets: $15
Call 404-733-4738 or visit http://www.14thstplayhouse.org

Louisville, Kentucky
Tuesday, January 31 at The Jazz Factory
815 West Market Street
(Downtown in the lower level of the Glassworks Building)
7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Free parking /No cover charge or minimum
Call 502-992-3242 or visit http://www.jazzfactory.us