Oberlin has great jazz musicians. Everybody knows that. We hear and see them all over the place: screaming saxes when you pass Hall, funky combos at house parties, moseying around campus in their laid-back, low slung slacks. They’re experimental, yet grounded in a tradition whose roots are so deep that it’s difficult for outsiders to fully grasp their collective paradigm. Whether or not we can or can’t, there’s no disputing that these are some seriously great players. But, did you know that they all get together for a few concerts every year? All the Oberlin Conservatory greats have, at one point in their career here, participated in the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble, which, under the leadership of Wendell Logan, has proven itself yet again pretty darn excellent in its concert last Saturday night in Finney Chapel.

OJE generally devotes itself not to the less accessible contemporary tunes, but instead to the older charts of Miles Davis, Thad Jones, and all the names you know. The group is structured like a big band—right down to the banner-style sax stands boasting “OJE” in maroon and gold. OJE competed for audience members with Halloween festivities on Saturday and still managed to attract a decent (but painfully still!) crowd that awarded them with a standing ovation and rapturous applause.

In big band concerts like Saturday’s, the most interesting element for me is figuring out the different solo styles each musician yields. Everyone got their eight plus bars of fame throughout the 10-song concert, but there were a few cats who totally stole the show. First-year Phillip K. Jones II was particularly brilliant. Featured in “Update by McCoy Tyner” (arr. Dennis Mackrel), Jones showed off his uncanny grasp on harmonic function. He moved through dense chordal structure without hesitation: every note swung, every pitch resolved, every chin in the audience dropped. Jones also got to strut his stuff on the Jazz department’s new Hammond jazz organ in “Bit” by Muhal Richard Abrams. (The new organ is pretty spectacular, but if Finney’s new organ had a “jazz setting,” now that would have really shook it up!)

Senior trombone player Ryan Snow also had ample opportunity to bear his (enormous) chops last Saturday. Featured in “Lover man” by Ray Ramirez (arr. Robin Eubanks), Ryan introduced the tune’s lyrical theme in just about as sultry a manner as trombone can pull off. The timbre he produced was versatile, his decorations tasteful, his timing impeccable and his suit—very sharp.

The band itself really rocked on Miles Davis’ “Milestones” with bassist Curtis Ostle tearing up a high speed walking bass line. (Insert “running bass” joke here.) Director Wendell Logan, as usual, has proven himself an awesome dude, producing a solid set with dedicated and talented musicians. My one complaint about the evening has nothing to do with the band, but rather with its audience. I don’t know whether it’s the nature of Finney Chapel or the classical concert conditioning modern audiences have been subjected to, but if there was one person in the whole hall (John Wagner excluded) who even flinched to the beat, I’ll be damned. Next OJE concert, let’s dance in the aisles. Now, that would be a true standing ovation.