The sun came out, the music came up and the Chapel was transformed to a jazz hall concert club today when Yemi Oyediran ’99 and his quintet visited campus as part of the Bicentennial Recital Series. Oyediran’s good nature afforded an informality that was both refreshing yet still deferential to the school he loves, saying, “performing here today is a massive dream come true for me.” He began the performance with a bit of a musical lesson by making everyone stand and sing the alma mater, then refashioning it as a jazz song. The makeover was a huge hit.

Drumming seems to come so naturally to Oyediran – he said one of the most important lessons he learned in music was to stop trying to sound like other people, and instead allow his music to reflect himself. He told students, “make promises to yourself while you are here, and execute these promises throughout the course of your lifetime. My life was created from the lessons I learned at Western Reserve.”

Oyediran, who came wearing a green blazer, tipped his hat to the diversity embedded in the Reserve community - diversity of backgrounds, experiences, cultures and opinions. “Share and sharpen the ideas you have in an environment where there are so many people to learn from. Because there are so many different people to share with, you can do remarkable things.”

Oyediran’s advice was manifested on the stage, where he worked effortlessly alongside his talented bandmates, crediting them, complementing them, deferring to them and ultimately making beautiful music together. Jazz ended up seeming like a metaphor for Reserve, where lessons learned in patience, collaboration and respect make the individual, and the collective, better.

To end the appearance, Oyediran took requests ranging from Lauryn Hill to Bruno Mars to John Coltrane, deftly performing them all to the delight of everyone in the Chapel. The quintet’s final performance was Happy Birthday, which seemed perfect as the school prepares to turn 200 years old.