A Noteworthy Evening

About the Event

Artists-in-residence Norfleet and Prince worked with Steward students to bring this one-of-a-kind evening to life. Artist and student performances and readings incorporated the history of jazz—from the foundations of jazz music, improvisation, and modern jazz to the influence in American culture as we see and hear it today. The event included musical performances by the Stephen Norfleet Group as well as students. Prince unveiled jazz-inspired wood-block prints and addressed the crowd about the intricate connection between process and product. Students read poetry, inspired by the genre of jazz and African American history.

Thematically, music centered on New Orleans and its unique flavor of music and art; additionally, complementary performances presented more “modern” versions of jazz. “Both [versions] involved 'jazz' music, yes, but are very different. Upon hearing the two the difference will become apparent,” says Norfleet, an acclaimed musician and educator. His band, the Stephen Norfleet Band, performed alone and with student performers.

Steve A. Prince had students explore the artistic expression of loss and recovery. "Through the process of art, I challenged the students to take those hurts, pains, misfortunes in their lives and channel it through their art to leave a historical record of the significance of that event in their lives, thus using art as a tool of healing and rejuvenation."  Each student wrote a poem based on these themes; Prince worked with students to utilize the tenets of Jazz music embodied in syncopation, call and response, and improvisation. Prince explains, "The students translated their poems into visual iconography just as Jazz musician may take his or her surroundings and translate their experience into sound, or the slave who took the hardships of working in the field and restated that hurt in the form of a spiritual. Those spirituals eventually became the foundations of American Jazz."

The students and Prince carved a multi-panel, quilt-like block-print (created in part using Prince's unique steam-roller technique), which was unveiled at the event.

It was an amazing evening where artists and our students showcased the seamless tie between music, literature, history, and the visual arts.

About the Artists

Stephen Norfleet

Stephen Norfleet began playing saxophone in his hometown of Newport News, Virginia at the age of 11.  In 1994 he re-located to Richmond, where he received a tuition scholarship to attend Virginia Commonwealth University's Jazz Program.  Stephen graduated from VCU in 2000 with a degree in Saxophone Performance.

While in Richmond, he was thrust into the role of bandleader when he created the internationally acclaimed Devil's Workshop Big Band.  Garnering praise from around the globe, validation arrived when the band's debut CD, “Idle Hands,” received a four-star review in one of the nation's leading authorities on jazz, Downbeat Magazine.

In 2004 Stephen was selected to enter the Graduate Program at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where he earned a Master's degree in Jazz/Commercial Music.  Most recently Stephen has begun his career as a much sought after instrumentalist and music educator. He currently lives in Charlottesville, VA. “Being an educator is a very important part of my life as a musician,” he says. An artist-in-residence at The Steward School this year, Stephen has brought his experience, talent, and dedication to the classroom—and has made jazz come alive for students in the process.

Steve A. Prince

Steve A. Prince is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and received his BFA from Xavier University of Louisiana and his MFA from Michigan State University.  A artist proficient in a number of media, Steve has created public artworks from life-size bronze busts to mixed-media installations to sculptures to wood-block prints, made in part using a steamroller. 

He has shown his art internationally in various solo, group, and juried exhibitions, including the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, the Canadian Mennonite University Gallery, the National Gallery of the Bahamas, the Grand Rapids Museum of Art, the Portsmouth Courthouse Museum, Hampton University Museum, the Museum of African American Culture in New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana Gallery, Eyekons Gallery in Grand Rapids, and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center—just to name a few.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the 2007 Partners of the Americas Artist-in-Residence in Santa Catarina, Brazil, Steve now lives in Hampton, Virginia. He is a dedicated educator and has taught privately as well as in middle school and college; currently he teaches at Hampton High School in Virginia. Steve conducts workshops internationally in addition to being an accomplished lecturer in both secular and sacred settings. He has spoken at various colleges, community centers, museums, galleries, and congregations of various denominations. Steve’s teaching style earns him praise and draws students, young and old, to the process while endearing them to the product. The Steward School welcomes him as our 2008 artist-in-residence.