Irvin Mayfield
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Irvin Mayfield Jr. (born December 23, 1977) is an American trumpeter, composer, bandleader and educator. On November 3, 2021, Mayfield was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding the
New Orleans public library system The New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) is the public library of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Succeeding earlier libraries in the city, it opened in 1897. Three branches were added by 1908. Carnegie library branches were adde ...
for over one million dollars.


Early life

Irvin Mayfield, who was born in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, United States, is the youngest of nine children from Joyce Alsanders and Irvin Mayfield Sr. His mother was a schoolteacher in New Orleans' Upper Ninth Ward. His father was a drill sergeant in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and a boxer who died in the flood after
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
. Growing up, Mayfield Jr. played organ at his church and received his first trumpet when he was in the fourth grade.


Career

Mayfield started his musical career in the late 1980s with the Algiers Brass Band, a traditional New Orleans–based street act. He graduated from the
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary education, secondary schoo ...
(NOCCA), and was offered a scholarship to the
Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...
, but he decided to attend the University of New Orleans instead. At the
University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...
he dropped out during his first semester. In 1998, Mayfield helped found Los Hombres Calientes, a New Orleans jazz group that incorporates
Afro-Cuban jazz Afro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban music has deep roots in African ritual and rhythm. The genre emerged in the early 1940s ...
with
rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
. Original members include Mayfield,
Bill Summers Bill Summers may refer to: * Bill Summers (car builder) (1935–2011), American car builder and longtime speed record holder *Bill Summers (musician) (born 1948), American jazz percussionist *Bill Summers (umpire) William Reed Summers (November 1 ...
, and
Jason Marsalis Jason Marsalis (born March 4, 1977) is an American jazz drummer, vibraphone player, composer, producer, band leader, and member of the Marsalis family of musicians. He is the youngest son of Dolores Ferdinand Marsalis and the late Ellis Marsalis ...
. Shortly after forming, the band signed with
Basin Street Records Basin Street Records is a Grammy Award-winning independent record label based in New Orleans which specializes in jazz, funk, and rhythm and blues ( R&B). Basin Street Records was founded in 1997 by Mark Samuels and Tom Thompson. The label aros ...
, a record label in New Orleans and published five albums over the years. In 2002, Mayfield founded the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, a sixteen-piece
jazz ensemble Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, hymns, m ...
as a nonprofit organization dedicated to perform and promote New Orleans Jazz. In 2016, he stepped down as artistic director. Mayfield has performed at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, Sydney Jazz Festival Australia, North Sea Jazzfestival Europe, and
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...
. In 2004 Mayfield composed ''Strange Fruit'', a 90-minute opus based on Billie Holiday's recording "
Strange Fruit "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song Protest song, protests the Lynch ...
" in 1939. The music combines jazz elements with
negro spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...
and
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
. The work is reminiscent of Wynton Marsalis's Blood on the Fields and All Rise, and the storyline features a doomed interracial romance in 1920s Louisiana. The composition was supported by Dillard University. Mayfield appears in performance footage in the 2005 documentary film '' Make It Funky!'', which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
,
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
,
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
. In the film, he performs "
Skokiaan "Skokiaan" is a Popular music, popular Melody, tune originally written by Zimbabwean musician August Msarurgwa, August Musarurwa in the "Tsaba-tsaba" big band-style that succeeded Marabi. "Skokiaan" ("Chikokiyana" in Shona language, Shona)
" as part of a trumpet challenge with
Kermit Ruffins Kermit Ruffins (born December 19, 1964) is an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer from New Orleans. He has been influenced by Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and says that the highest note he can hit on trumpet is a high C. He often a ...
and Troy Andrews. In 2005, he joined
Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...
at the Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
. In 2006, Mayfield performed at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Mayfield was nominated to the National Council on the Arts by President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and was appointed to the post by President Barack Obama in 2010. In 2009, Mayfield founded the Poorman Mayfield Music Group record label which released the Amanda Shaw album, '' Good Southern Girl'', in 2010. The label closed in 2014. He and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra opened The People's Health New Orleans Jazz Market in 2015. The New Orleans Jazz Market is a performing arts venue and Jazz community center in Central City New Orleans. The Jazz Market features music education experiences for all ages and hosts a New Orleans Jazz Archive.


New Orleans Library scandal

Mayfield was implicated in account records investigated by the
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
's office, involving the New Orleans Library Foundation and a payment to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. In May 2015, Mayfield was accused of scandal involving unethical use of non-profit funds. The scandal first erupted when WWL-TV, a CBS affiliate, revealed that Mayfield and Ronald Markham rewrote the bylaws of the Library Foundation board, so they could divert funds to New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, which was also led by Mayfield and Markham. WWL further revealed that Mayfield spent $18,000 of foundation money on a five-night trip to New York in 2012. As president of the Library Foundation, and with Markham on its board, Mayfield steered more than $1 million of library donations toward the $10 million cost of constructing the Peoples Health New Orleans Jazz Market and other projects. Mayfield and Markham resigned from the Library Foundation shortly after this was reported. In May 2016, Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra reached an agreement to pay $483,000 of that money back to the Library Foundation over a period of five years, and NOJO also pledged to raise the rest of the $1.1 million through benefit concerts. In July 2016, Mayfield resigned as artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. On April 13, 2017, WWLTV reported that FBI and the Inspector General's office are seeking information from the New Orleans Library Foundation, as it continues its investigation into jazz musician Mayfield. Mayfield was indicted on December 14, 2017, by a federal grand jury on 19 counts including fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. The indictment also named Ronald Markham as co-defendant. The indictment alleged that he and Markham steered nearly $1.4 million from the New Orleans Public Library Foundation's Board to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra or to enriched themselves between 2011 and 2013, while serving in leadership roles on both organization's boards. Among other things, the indictment alleges Mayfield spent the money on a 24-karat gold-plated trumpet. Mayfield is also alleged to have spent thousands in donations on travel expenses the library foundation said were not connected with library business, including tens of thousands on hotel expenses in New York. The indictments against Mayfield and Markham includes four counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering and one count of obstruction of justice. In October 2018, the State of Louisiana released an audit covering 2009 to 2016 of the New Orleans Jazz Market and New Orleans Jazz Orchestra financial and organization records, that concluded that funds provided by the State of Louisiana and City of New Orleans may have been misappropriated and therefore could be in violation of state law. On November 3, 2021, Mayfield was sentenced to 18 months in prison for "egregious fraud" of "ripping off the public libraries". He was released in January 2023.


Awards and honors

*
Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
, ''Book One'', New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, 2009 * Appointed Cultural Ambassador of the City of New Orleans, 2003 * Contemporary Latin Jazz Album of the Year, ''Los Hombres Calientes'', ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', 2000


Discography

* ''
Irvin Mayfield Irvin Mayfield Jr. (born December 23, 1977) is an American trumpeter, composer, bandleader and educator. On November 3, 2021, Mayfield was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding the New Orleans Public Library, New Orleans public librar ...
'' (
Basin Street Basin Street or Rue Bassin in French, is a street in New Orleans, Louisiana. It parallels Rampart Street one block lakeside, or inland, from the boundary of the French Quarter, running from Canal Street down 5 blocks past Saint Louis Cemetery. ...
, 1998) * ''Live at the Blue Note'' with Jaz Sawyer (
Half Note In music, a half note (American) or minim (British) is a Musical note, note played for half the duration of a whole note (or semibreve) and twice the duration of a quarter note (or crotchet). It was given its Latin name (''minima'', meaning "le ...
, 1999) * '' How Passion Falls'' (Basin Street, 2001) * '' Half Past Autumn Suite'' with Gordon Parks (Basin Street, 2003) * ''Strange Fruit'' with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (Basin Street, 2005) * ''Love Songs, Ballads, and Standards'' with Ellis Marsalis (Basin Street, 2008) * ''Book One'', with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (World Village, 2009) * ''A Love Letter to New Orleans'' (Basin Street, 2011) * ''A New Orleans Creole Christmas'' (Basin Street, 2014) * ''New Orleans Jazz Playhouse'' (Basin Street, 2015) 7-CD set with 290 page coffee-table sized book * '' Dee Dee's Feathers'' with
Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...
, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (
Okeh OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...
, 2015) * ''A Beautiful World'' with
Kermit Ruffins Kermit Ruffins (born December 19, 1964) is an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer from New Orleans. He has been influenced by Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and says that the highest note he can hit on trumpet is a high C. He often a ...
(Basin Street, 2017) * ''Live at Newport'' with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (Basin Street, 2017)


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayfield, Irvin 1977 births Living people Jazz musicians from New Orleans Afro-Cuban jazz trumpeters Post-bop jazz musicians American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters American jazz bandleaders Dillard University faculty 21st-century American trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Los Hombres Calientes members