Musicians at Play’s network provides concerts and instructions to under-served youth
Within the last decade, April Williams initiated and oversaw a robust jazz booking policy at Vitello’s restaurant in North Hollywood. When the owners made a change a few years ago, she switched into a decidedly higher gear. Williams began and currently helms M.A.P., a nonprofit that partners with community organizations and connects music mentors to schools. All of which goes to show that you can’t keep a good woman down.
Williams comes by her passion and know-how honestly: her family, which includes composer John Williams, has been involved in music for the best part of the past century. Keeping a nonprofit’s pilot light lit isn’t easy but Williams is very happy with the growth of M.A.P., now 2 1/2 years old. “We survive on donations and the ticket sales of our concerts,” she says. “And we couldn’t do it without the help we’ve had from Los Angeles musicians and the music community.”
The acronym stands for Musicians At Play and support for the group bolsters its mentoring programs and community partners, which serves at-risk and under-served youth. Currently, over 450 students, parents and teachers around SoCal take part in the M.A.P. programs each year. “Our primary mission is live concert presentation,” Williams states. “We have a network of professional musicians, composers and educators who provide live music and instruction to schools and communities. We’re helping to build communities through music.”
M.A.P. and Glendale Arts present a concert, “Music Under The Stars,” Thursday at the Alex Theatre forecourt. Composer, vocalist and flute player Dawn Norfleet is the featured performer. Her band includes keyboardist Nick Smith, bassist Sekou Bunch and drummer Marvin ‘Smitty’ Smith. Though free to the public, space is limited, so reservations are suggested.
Norfleet attended L.A. Unified schools; she studied singing and the flute before she went to Wellesley College and earned a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Columbia University. She takes live music to schools through a Music Center mentoring program and the Alex concert marks her first work with M.A.P.
“We got a grant to fund a free concert from the L.A. Arts Commission,” Williams reveals. “We found Dawn in the L.A.A.C. directory and we looked over her credentials. We liked what we learned about her and thought she’d be perfect for this concert.”
For many decades, local public schools provided a good rudimentary musical education. But Norfleet recalls her high school choir class being interrupted in midyear. “Budget cuts kicked in,” she says, “and the gym teacher took over the class; then he quit.”
She sees a broken link in local public schools and their support for music. “In my age group,” Norfleet relates, “many parents had the expectation that their children would learn instruments. Now there’s very little support among parents for music education so, in a sense, we’re having to start over.”
After college, Norfleet spent 12 years working in New York City. “When I was in grad school and in the jazz scene there,” she remembers, “it was when a lot of young musicians wanted to play with Wynton Marsalis and Art Blakey.” Her own circle included pianist-composer Vijay Iyer, pianist Andy Milne and bassist Essiet Okon Essiet.
She describes her own music as “a mélange of traditional jazz, classical music, funk and global rhythms.”
Norfleet moved back to L.A. in 2001. “It took me awhile to understand what’s going on here,” she confesses. One of the people she works with is saxophonist-composer Kamasi Washington. Norfleet sings in his choral auxiliary and participated in Washington’s “The Epic” album, which made him a national name.
“I walked out of that session,” she relates with a sense of exhilaration, “and I thought, ‘That was … epic!’ And that was before we knew what it would be titled!”
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What: ‘Music Under The Stars’
Where: Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale
When: Thursday, Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Contact: (818) 243-2539, boxoffice@alextheatre.org
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KIRK SILSBEE writes about jazz and culture for Marquee.