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Irvin Mayfield
Irvin Mayfield
00:52

Irvin Mayfield

New Orleans Jazz Orchestra

New Orleans, LA USA

"That's why your passion is so important-that's one thing that no one else can do that you can do because you love it more than anyone else."

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Irvin's work combines: Business, Music, and Being Creative

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Day In The Life

Jazz Trumpeter/Founder

I'm an accomplished jazz trumpeter and artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    Says that playing trumpet growing up didn't always make him the most popular person; people had their doubts.

  • 2.

    He had a passion, could listen to and play trumpet all day everyday, so he didn't care about financial success, the feelings of his peers.

  • 3.

    Says success is all relative; if he set a goal to make $400 one month and he made $500, he was on top of the world.

  • 4.

    Parts of his family wanted him to have a tangible career, a degree, rather than pursuing his dream.

  • 5.

    Father had taught him to play the trumpet, but was disappointed when he dropped out of college.

  • 6.

    In 2009, he won a Grammy and was appointed to the National Endowment of the Arts by President Obama.

  • 7.

    Once he had a Grammy, got his own apartment, his family started to come around to his choices.

  • 8.

    Lives by a saying his mother taught him: "Blessed is he who gets paid for what he would do for free."

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from undefined:

  • How I responded:

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

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  • I don't have a college degree, I left school, which was one of the most painful decisions I ever made.