The Oswego Jazz Project (OJP), a jazz band that has its roots in the SUNY Oswego campus, will hold a party for the release of their sophomore album, “And the Time Is Now,” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, at King Arthur’s Steakhouse, corner of West First and Bridge Streets in Oswego.

The members of OJP include SUNY Oswego music professors Rob Auler (piano), Trevor Jorgensen (saxophone), Eric Schmitz (drums) and recently graduated music major Max McKee, who is now a music professor at Ithaca College (bass).

The band was created because “aspiring jazz musicians can find it difficult to hone their skills in a real-world setting, since jazz clubs that might sponsor jam sessions have mostly disappeared from America’s downtowns,” Schmitz said.

The Oswego Jazz Project (OJP) was founded in early fall 2006 to provide an opportunity for the college students and community members to play with a professional jazz quartet in a public jam session setting on a weekly basis.

The newest album was recorded “live” in the studio, with no overdubs and minimal editing, to achieve a sound as close as the OJP could get to their weekly performances.

The album will include original songs as well as two jazz standards. Some of the original tracks include “Watching and Waiting,” by Schmitz and “Killing Time,” by Auler.

The album will also feature an updated arrangement of SUNY Oswego’s Alma Mater, also by Auler.

“And the Time Is Now” will be on sale at the release party for a discounted price. There is no admission charge to the event and there will also be free snack foods and a cash bar available.

The album can also be purchased at the SUNY Oswego College Store located in the new Campus Center the new downtown store in the heart of Oswego, at the river’s end bookstore and at the Web site www.cdbaby.com/cd/ojp.OJP’s.

For more information, call 312-2977.