Mayfield to bring the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra to Omaha this weekend.By KIOS
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Omaha, Nebraska – Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra will perform in Omaha this weekend.
The NOJO was founded by artistic director Irvin Mayfield, the Grammy nominated and Billboard winning trumpeter and composer who is the officially appointed Culturual Ambassador for the City of New Orleans.
A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Mayfield has become one of the foremost ambassadors of the music of the birthplace of jazz.
He co-founded his Los Hombres Calientes, a New Orleans-styled version of a Latin jazz band, with Bill Summers. He also leads his own band, the Irvin Mayfield Quintet, in addition to recordings with other artists and his work with the NOJO.
The NOJO performs and presents educational programs that draw upon the rich musical and cultural traditions of New Orleans. NOJO is the only major performing and presenting jazz institution based in post-Katrina New Orleans. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans lacked a world-class performing jazz organization capable of supporting, sustaining, promoting, and celebrating jazz's integral value to New Orleans and American culture. Addressing this lack of infrastructure in the birthplace of jazz is NOJO's mission, which now carries greater weight with every passing day in post-Katrina New Orleans.
The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra has become a cultural beacon for a city steeped in rich tradition. This 16-piece band invites you to enjoy an authentic New Orleans experience with the music of jazz greats Professor Longhair, Jelly Roll Morton and others as they celebrate America's native music as only a group that hails from the city of its birth can do.
The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra will perform Saturday, February 23rd at 8:00 PM at the Peter Kiewit Concert Hall at the Holland Performing Arts Center. For more information visit http://www.omahaperformingarts.org. This performance is part of the The UNO Great Plains Jazz Festival XXXVI, the Omaha Performing Arts Jazz Series and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Ecoutez! concert series.
KIOS Jazz Host Mike Jacobs recently spoke with Irvin Mayfield. Click on the audio link with this article to listen to the interview.