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Irvin Mayfield and
the New Orleans Jazz
Orchestra
Originally commissioned by the Cathedral in the fall of 2005 with
financial contributions from around the country, All the Saints was
hailed as the cultural reopening of New Orleans, and celebrates the
healing power of Jazz. Each year the performance includes elements
of the original along with new music composed by Irvin Mayfield.
To find
out more about
the Elysian Trumpet visit
www.elysiantrumpet.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ ORCHESTRA VISIT www.thenojo.com.
Articles
about past "All The Saints" Concerts Immediately following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Christ Church Cathedral commissioned a jazz composition by NOJO that would communicate hope and celebration for the city’s wounded citizenry. To that end, Artistic Director Irvin Mayfield, whose own father died at the hands of Katrina, composed the 90-minute mournful, yet hopeful, work, “All the Saints”, which is ultimately a celebration of life and rebirth. This year’s performance of “All the Saints” will serve a reminder that music, art and spirituality are integral to the ongoing healing and cultural restoration of New Orleans. The family-friendly concert offers a musical, as well as educational, experience that demonstrates the relevance of New Orleans’ jazz heritage both in the world of music and in the smaller community of New Orleans. NOJO, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, is currently working toward a consistent local concert series and is a stakeholder participant in the recently approved $715 million Hyatt Jazz District renovation development announced by Strategic Hotels in May 2005.
Raising up a city through jazzIrvin Mayfield's rousing return brings down the cathedral Saturday, November 19, 2005 By Keith Spera Music writer To stand on the steps of Christ Church Cathedral on Aug. 31 was to witness a city at its most desperate. To return to the 2900 block of St. Charles Avenue 11 weeks later was to share in the same city's rebirth. On Aug. 31, that first terrible Wednesday after Hurricane Katrina, looters roamed at will as shell-shocked residents filed out of Central City, paused briefly on the Christ Church steps, then pressed on toward the unfolding crisis at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. On Thursday, an overflow crowd filled the 119-year-old sanctuary as trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra unveiled "All the Saints," a triumphant new composition of grief and resolve. It was a defining moment for Mayfield, the orchestra and post-Katrina New Orleans. The weekend after the storm, Mayfield and Christ Church's dean, the Very Rev. David duPlantier, met at a Baton Rouge restaurant. They resurrected their idea of a commissioned jazz piece to commemorate the Episcopal bicentennial in Louisiana, but with an even greater purpose: to mourn Katrina's destruction and celebrate New Orleans' unyielding spirit. The composition and transporting, housing and rehearsing 16 musicians scattered around the country would cost tens of thousands of dollars. On a handshake, duPlantier agreed that his congregation, partnered with Episcopal churches around the world, would foot the bill. Mayfield started writing. . . . . . . . Their plan evolved into a week of activities celebrating both the Episcopal anniversary and the return of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. On Wednesday, duPlantier and Bishop Charles Jenkins joined Mayfield, the Young Tuxedo Brass Band, trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and entertainer Chris Owens, riding atop a convertible, for a second-line parade from St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to the Wyndham New Orleans at Canal Place. This was not a buck-jumping, beer-tossing contemporary second-line, but a stately nod to the tradition established decades ago by the Onward, Olympia and Eureka brass bands. Instead of TV theme songs and funk standards, the repertoire favored the traditional: "Lil' Liza Jane," "Down by the Riverside," "When the Saints Go Marching In." "That's what Irvin wanted -- that real old-time sound," said trumpeter Gregg Stafford, the Young Tuxedo leader. Wednesday's march was Stafford's fourth symbolic post-Katrina second-line. "Each one, the faces are different," he said. "But you see the glow in their eyes when they hear the sound of the drums and horns. They know they're home." "It's not necessarily closure, but it's the beginning of closure," said clarinetist Tim Laughlin, before heading out to his own gig at the Palm Court Cafe. "Walking around the Quarter, I'm not hearing music, but hammers and buzzsaws. That's a good sound, the sound of getting things done. "But this" -- he indicated his fellow musicians -- "this is the sound that I missed." After the second-line, musicians and marchers shuttled up to the Wyndham's spacious 11th floor lobby lounge for the second consecutive night of informal jams. Mayfield relished a brief pause in a ballroom turned dressing room. In the past week, he'd struggled to finish writing "All the Saints" between rehearsals and TV, radio and print interviews, a brutal schedule even for someone as motivated as he. His interviews mixed optimism with reality. "We're celebrating, but not everything is fine," he said. "We still have a lot of work to do. But we're ready to do it." He joined other members of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra in the Wyndham lobby. Framed by a view of the Mississippi River far below, they arranged themselves at the carpet's edge, stepping up one-by-one for solos, relaxed yet engaged. All involved had begun to realize that the next night's "All the Saints" premiere at Christ Church might be more popular, and important, than they had imagined. "We wanted to be more visible and connected to the community," duPlantier said. "I think we'll get our wish." . . . . . . . He did, and then some. The Episcopal Church held its first service in the Louisiana territory at the Cabildo on Nov. 17, 1805. Two hundred years later, Christ Church Cathedral ushered in the third century with a flourish. On Thursday, cars cluttered the St. Charles Avenue streetcar tracks from Washington Avenue to Eighth Street. Police directed heavy traffic. Satellite trucks idled outside as TV cameras on cranes dodged chandeliers inside. An estimated 1,200 people filled the pews, stood eight deep in the rear and spilled onto the church steps, congregants, music fans and elected officials massed together under vaulted ceiling and grand arches. Shortly after 7 p.m., the jazz orchestra assembled amid the ornate carved wood and gilded railings near the altar. Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu delivered a brief introduction. "Look to your left, then look to your right," Landrieu instructed. "Get a sense of where you are in time and place. Understand that New Orleans has always lived, lives today, and will continue to live." Then it was Mayfield's turn. He generally refrains from political comments but addressed the possibility of the Louisiana Legislature cutting funding for the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the school that nurtured Mayfield and many of the musicians surrounding him. "I'd rather not have a house," Mayfield said, "than not have the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts." With that, drummer Adonis Rose counted off a deliberate, slow cadence, as Mayfield's trumpet breathed a somber blues to usher in "All the Saints." He avoided flashy parlor tricks of sustained notes and circular breathing -- this was a eulogy. The full orchestra eased in behind him with one voice, built around a funereal progression of four notes. When it ended, the sanctuary was silent. Applause did not seem appropriate. But in the third number, Clarence Johnson III's alto saxophone lit up the cathedral, followed closely by Steve Walker's gutbucket trombone and Ed "Sweetbread" Petersen's tenor saxophone, laced with humor, determination and resolve. Applause broke in waves. In "People of the City," the orchestra's members chanted "better get to higher ground," then high-stepped to a big, brassy finish. "Mitch Landrieu is dying to get up here and sing," Mayfield noted. Then he reminded all in attendance that his own father had disappeared during the post-Katrina evacuation and is still missing. "This is the first song he taught me." In his finest moment, his trumpet caressed the opening bars of "Just a Closer Walk With Thee." Accompanied only by his old friend Ronald Markham on piano, Mayfield's touch and tone were subdued, reverent and gorgeous; more than one listener cried. He flirted briefly with overwhelming the mood, then brought the hymn down for a soft landing, inspiring the night's first standing ovation. "Ninth Ward Blues" earned another ovation, as did the final second-line. Between big-band swells, Victor Atkins delivered a slice of Storyville piano as Mayfield's trumpet skittered over the top. "If we don't believe in our city," Mayfield said, "nobody else will." After the applause faded, duPlantier presented Mayfield with the Philander Chase Dean's Cross, a stylized, 4-inch sterling silver cross suspended from a thick chain. duplantier established the award, named for his congregation's founder, four years ago. The previous 15 crosses went to fellow members of the clergy and the Christ Church family. "Irvin is the first non-ordained person to receive one," duPlantier said. "It seemed appropriate, because he really is part of our history now." . . . . . . . Late Thursday night, Mayfield and much of the orchestra reconvened on Frenchmen Street at Snug Harbor. Following drummer Ricky Sebastian's early set, they orchestrated a late night jam session. Their audience included "Nightline's" Ted Koppel, in town to conduct interviews for a New Orleans special. Mayfield had left behind the two hulking Orleans Parish sheriff's deputies who shadowed him like bodyguards at the church. He had also changed from his suit and tie into jeans and a black sweater. But he still wore his new silver Dean's Cross. It bounced against his
chest as he smiled and sang "Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On," a . . . . . . . Music writer Keith Spera can be reached at kspera@timespicayune.com, or (504) 826-3470.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, Church Christ Cathedral in New Orleans, set out to make history when it recently commissioned the first-ever major jazz piece (the first commission of its kind by an Episcopal Church). The commissioned work, entitled All the Saints, is dedicated to the City of New Orleans and tells the story of Hurricane Katrina and its effects on the city and its people (the first musical dedication of its kind). The historic piece will be composed and conducted by Grammy-nominated and Billboard Award winning jazz trumpeter Irvin Mayfield, who is the federally recognized and city and state appointed Cultural Ambassador of the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana, and who also fronts the popular Latin jazz band Los Hombres Calientes while also serving as artistic director of The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Inc. (NOjO), a 501 (c) (3), not-for-profit jazz education and performance organization that he founded in 2002. The commission will debut on November 17, 2005 to coincide with the bicentennial of the first service of Christ Church, the first non Roman Catholic congregation in the Louisiana Purchase territories, and will be performed by NOjO’s sixteen-member big band inside Church Christ Cathedral on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. The scheduled performance will also mark the first major musical performance within the City of New Orleans proper since the devastating aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Similarly, the performance will mark the first major performance by NOjO’s musicians within the City of New Orleans since their evacuation prior to Hurricane Katrina, and will mark the first major cultural event to take place within the City of New Orleans since the hurricanes. All the Saints: jazz funeral, memorial and processional In 1873, William J. Irons wrote the following words: “Sing with all the saints in glory, sing the resurrection song!/ Death and sorrow, earth’s dark story, to the former days belong.” Similar to a New Orleans jazz funeral, the words both memorialize tragedy and celebrate life. The City of New Orleans, known for its spirited take on life, where solemn funeral marches transform into lively second lines, has seen its fair share of jazz funerals within its storied streets. Louis Armstrong perfected his horn behind many a somber New Orleans funeral procession. Christian faith, European hymns, African rhythms and American sensibilities commingled in New Orleans streets to give birth to the most uniquely American sound, jazz, to ever be created on American soil. It is fitting, then, that Irvin Mayfield, New Orleans native and resident trumpeter, has titled his commission for the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, All the Saints. According to Mayfield, “the piece will essentially embody a New Orleans jazz funeral. It will consist of three major movements: first there will be a jazz funeral—here the music will resemble a slow funeral march proceeding down the streets of New Orleans in which the corpse of the former New Orleans will be carried; second there will be a memorial service—after we have marched the deceased city down the streets, there will be a memorial service and the music will reflect this by memorializing the tragedy that occurred in the aftermath of Katrina; and third there will be a celebratory procession—as naturally occurred in the streets of New Orleans, the music will celebrate life and glory, and a processional, a second line, will take us out of death and into the next phase, which is rebirth.” Mayfield notes that the historic music will be a blues piece that will include Negro spirituals, chain gang chants, call-and-response, and field hollers rolled into a big jazz funeral event. Acknowledging his use of blues in this jazz piece, he reminds everyone that, “blues is to jazz as blood is to the body.” The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Inc.’s sixteen-member big band will debut Mayfield’s commissioned work during a performance that Mayfield will conduct within Church Christ Cathedral on St. Charles Avenue, November 17, 2005. The commissioned work, in Dean David duPlantier’s words, “is a gift from the Episcopal Church to the people of the City of New Orleans who have suffered so much. It’s a way of laying to rest all that has happened while remembering to move forward in God’s grace as we begin the process of rebuilding.” Dean duPlantier, early during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, realized that jazz, with its deep roots in tragedy and celebration, could serve as a tool for healing and called upon Mayfield to consider writing the commission. As Mayfield notes, “it’s an amazing thing to think about, really. Jazz comes from the blues, and the blues comes from slaves taking European Christian hymns and making it their own. The healing comes from dealing with the pain. Through the blues, you take the pain and suffering and turn it on its head, look at it, celebrate its passing through as a part of life, and move on. That’s what jazz teaches. That’s the blues that you can find in jazz.” As a sign of the hope promised in resurrection, and as an offering of support to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra during this period of uncertainty, the Cathedral Vestry has authorized Dean David duPlantier to seek contributions from Anglicans around the world in order to raise the $100,000 necessary to commission and present this work as a gift to the City of New Orleans. The piece entitled All the Saints will receive its premier at the Cathedral on Thursday, November 17, 2005 which is the date of the bicentennial anniversary of the first service of Christ Church, the first non Roman Catholic Church in the Louisiana Purchase territories. The Cathedral has made the initial contribution of $25,000 toward this commission from the Concert Fund in memory of Mrs. Francis Lawrence Martin.
Please make checks
payable to: Christ Church Cathedral and note All the Saints
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On Friday, November 16 at 7pm,
the Cathedral Concert Series presented the third Annual...All
the Saints Concert Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz
Orchestra.
