Art | Jazz

Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Music and the visual arts intersect as students in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music perform in the Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble. This concert will take place in the courtyard behind the museum and light refreshments will be served.

This free Allen After Hours event relates to the current exhibition of modern and contemporary works titled New Acquisitions and Old Friends.

The ensemble will present a mix of original tunes and arrangements of standards by group members and director Bobby Ferrazza, Oberlin professor of jazz guitar.

The 2021-22 Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble lineup consists of Armen Krakirian (trumpet), Coleman Rose (saxophone), Eric Weaver (trombone), Sehrèa Brown (vocals), Archer Parks (guitar), Wilson Woods (piano), Kamran Curlin (bass), and Martin Kent (drums).

Formed in 2018, the Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble was made possible through a generous gift to Oberlin Conservatory by Rollins, the revered jazz saxophonist and composer. More than a mere spot in an elite unit, membership in the ensemble requires a commitment to service through music and willingness to give for others—core principles exemplified by Rollins throughout his life and career.

Auditions for the ensemble are held each year, and all Oberlin jazz students are eligible for inclusion beginning with their first year on campus.

In January 2019, the Sonny Ensemble performed two sets at New York City’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center complex. The following year, the ensemble made its West Coast debut in the Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ in San Francisco.

“These students are among the most talented musicians in our conservatory, but they are also amazing stewards of the mission Mr. Rollins established for this group: to be servants to their community not only through their music, but through their generosity of spirit,” says Ferrazza. “I’m very proud of each one of them, and all of Oberlin can be proud of them too.”