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Date: Sep 8, 2010
Title: Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra Embark on South American Tour
Grammy Award-winning orchestra performs in Brazil and readies for Carnegie Hall.
The 2010 Grammy Award winning orchestra kicks off its Fall tour at Bowdoin College, Maine on September 16th and than embarks on a five-city tour of Brazil that includes stops in the following cities:
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010
Palacio das Artes, Belo Horizonte, 7pm
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2010
Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, 8pm
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010
Teatro Bradesco, Sao Paulo, 9pm
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010
Museo de Arte de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, 8pm
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Museo de Arte de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, 8pm
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
Teatro Castro Alves, Salvador, 9pm
Sunday, SEPTEMBER 26, 2010
Teatro Municipal de Guarulhos, Guarulhos, 11am
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2010
The Fountainbleau Hotel, Miami (PRIVATE EVENT)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30,
CARNEGIE HALL, NYC
Irvin Mayfield and the 15-piece New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s are wrapping up a summer tour that included critically acclaimed performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and the Playboy Jazz Festival. NOJO performed selections from it new commission, The Elysian Field’s Jazz Suite and selections from the Grammy-Award winning album Book One. The Elysian Fields Jazz Suite is an exploration of liberty, family, death, and rebirth. The score is named after the historic Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans that connects the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain. Spiritually, the piece is inspired by both the ancient Greek belief in the Elysian Fields as a resting place for the souls of the heroic and virtuous, as well as the Egyptian concept of Elysian Fields as a paradise where the dead spend eternity. The ancient mythology converged with reality in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when Mayfield’s father –Irvin Mayfield Sr.—drowned, and was found on the flooded Elysian Fields. This special commission is dedicated to Irvin Mayfield Sr. and all of the others who perished during the storm. The Elysian Fields Jazz Suite is also an ode to New Orleans’ historical ties to France and its namesake, the Champs Elysees, the storied boulevard where liberty is honored. “The Elysian Fields Jazz Suite is a clarion call that triumph can come from tragedy,” said Mayfield. The Elysian Fields Jazz Suite was made possible by a grant from the Board of Regents Atlas Awards to Louisiana Artist and Scholars Program.
CURRENT REVIEW
“…. Perhaps this was to be expected from the Cultural Ambassador of the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana, who also serves as a member of the National Endowment for the Arts. Completely unexpected was the output of his 17-piece orchestra, seated in a crescent on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday. There was not a trace of "When the Saints Go Marching In." The sound was modern, thrilling and swinging. Mayfield's trumpet playing was absorbingly intelligent jazz, like that produced by the rest of the soloists -- among them a banjo player, several saxophonists and trumpeters and that astonishing trombone player Ron Westray…” PLAYBOY JAZZ FESTIVAL, REUTERS
For updated tour information, please visit www.thenojo.com and www.irvinmayfield.com.
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about NOJO
The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra was founded in 2002 by trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader, Irvin Mayfield. NOJO is a performing arts organization aimed at strengthening the business of jazz through performances, touring, recordings, education and media platforms. Committed to the culture of New Orleans, NOJO is on a mission to inspire freedom and culture in both the individual and the global community by creating authentic, engaging jazz experiences while celebrating the origins and transforming the future of jazz. NOJO is engaged in innovative partnerships with Tulane University and the University of New Orleans, where it established the New Orleans Jazz Institute and its Saturday Music School for children. To learn more about NOJO visit,