Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra
Irvin Mayfield, Founder and Artistic Director
The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) is a spirited, swinging, 16-piece band steeped in the tradition of New Orleans jazz, blues, swing and spirituals. Under the leadership of Irvin Mayfield, the federal and state appointed Cultural Ambassador to the State of Louisiana and City of New Orleans, NOJO has created a permanent national performing arts and education organization to celebrate America's native musical form in the city of its birth. As a major touring ensemble, NOJO is regularly presented at the country's most prestigious venues, with recent and upcoming performances including Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC), Chicago's Ravinia Festival, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), Seattle's Benaroya Hall, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, UCLA's Royce Hall, SFJAZZ at The Palace, Tucson's Centennial Hall, Miami and Orange County's new Performing Arts Centers, Green Bay's Weidner Center, and Notre Dame's new DeBartolo Center.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, NOJO has become a cultural beacon for a troubled city steeped in rich cultural traditions. NOJO's mission to bring authentic New Orleans music to cities throughout the United States was solidified by a partnership with Prudential Financial, Inc. and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in December 2005. Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, NOJO's inaugural national tour was threatened with cancellation. The partnership with Prudential Financial, Inc. allowed NOJO to embark on its first national tour and created a residency program for NOJO at NJPAC, which includes performances, educational workshops and commissioning of new jazz works for debut in Newark in 2006 and 2007. In addition, it was announced in January 2006 that Tulane University would serve as the new home of NOJO in New Orleans.
Through 2006-2007, NOJO offers audiences a program titled "New Orleans: Then and Now," a vibrant collection of Mr. Mayfield's big band arrangements of traditional New Orleans jazz, blues, swing and spirituals. Selections also include original compositions by Mr. Mayfield and the music of Duke Ellington. "New Orleans: Then and Now" delights audiences while spreading the message that the rich cultural spirit of New Orleans will persevere. With a firm commitment to music education, NOJO also offers master classes led by Mr. Mayfield and interactive jazz outreach activities for young people entitled A Visit with Jazz.
Irvin Mayfield, Founder and Artistic Director
The New York Times has recognized "[Irvin] Mayfield's development from child prodigy - he began playing the trumpet at age nine - to one of the city's most ambitious musical entrepreneurs." Born in the Crescent City in 1977, Irvin Mayfield is the latest in an illustrious line of New Orleans trumpeters and has quickly established himself as one of the most decorated jazz musicians of his generation. He co-founded the New Orleans-flavored Latin jazz band Los Hombres Calientes with percussionist Bill Summers, and also leads his own band - the Irvin Mayfield Quintet - in addition to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, which he serves as Founder and Artistic Director. Mr. Mayfield also served as Artist-in-Residence at Dillard University from 1995-2005, founding the Institute of Jazz Culture at Dillard in 2003.
In September 2003, Mr. Mayfield was unanimously appointed to the post of Cultural Ambassador for the City of New Orleans by the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, the Governor's Office of the State of Louisiana, the Louisiana State House of Representatives, the Louisiana State Senate, the City of New Orleans, the New Orleans City Council and the New Orleans Aviation Board - establishing himself as a musician who embodies and represents the great New Orleans jazz legacy, as well as an international jazz and cultural spokesperson.
In addition, Mr. Mayfield has accepted Artist-in-Residence appointments to both the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), Riverside Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans and Tulane University. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Mr. Mayfield has dedicated himself to the ongoing efforts to rebuild and revitalize New Orleans' rich cultural heritage. He is helping lead several committees dedicated to bringing New Orleans back. Among those boards in which Mr. Mayfield is a member are: The Louisiana Rebirth Advisory Board; The Bring New Orleans Back Commission Cultural Sub-Committee; and The Hyatt New Orleans District Rebirth Advisory Board. Mr. Mayfield has also participated in several hurricane-related fundraisers, including the critically-acclaimed Higher Ground benefit concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, where Mr. Mayfield offered an emotional performance of Just a Closer Walk with Thee that was dedicated to his father, who sadly was identified as a drowning victim of the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
As a Basin Street Records artist, Mr. Mayfield has released 10 albums, and has appeared on or produced dozens of other records. His latest recording, released in 2005, is Los Hombres Calientes' Volume 5: Carnival was recently nominated for Billboard Latin Jazz Album of the Year.
For more on the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and Irvin Mayfield, please visit www.TheNOJO.com.
OFFICIAL BIO FOR THE 2005-2006 SEASON. LAST UPDATED FEBRUARY 2006.
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