by Max Newman
If you’re looking for a display of collegiate jazz brilliance, look no further than Oberlin Conservatory’s Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble. Selected through an extremely competitive audition process, this premier ensemble was formed in 2018 after a generous donation from its namesake. The group often tours the nation, wowing audiences with their remarkable performances and showcasing the next generation set to make their mark on jazz.
On January 13, the ensemble, led by jazz guitar professor Bobby Ferrazza, performed at Oberlin’s Dionysus Club (known as the ‘Sco), previewing ten pieces for their upcoming tour to San Francisco. The group transfixed the audience with performances that were at times lively, at times sultry, at times laid back, and always supremely impressive.
Opera in a dance club? Why not? Opera can be intimidating and ridiculous, with its gilded houses, extravagant length, fantastic plots, and the bewildering phantasmagoria that generally appears onstage. There’s a reason why it’s parodied so frequently. So it was refreshing to see digestible, one-act operas about everyday people presented by Oberlin Opera Theater in the basement Dionysus Disco, better known to the sweaty college revelers who are its normal customers as the ‘Sco.