Motor City People At Work

Motor City People At Work

Kasuka Mafia (Norris Patterson), master saxophonist and director of the Success Academy of Fine Arts, has lived in Detroit all his life and loves this city. "l've traveled many places," he telIs you enthusiastically. "l've lived in California and Las Vegas, but Detroit is my favorite.

"When you tell people in the music business that you are from Detroit, they embrace you with open - arms. A lot of musicians come out of here. Yusef Lateef's ÁL home was Klein's Showbar on 12th St. (now Rosa Parks Blvd.),and the Blue Bird Inn is still famous all over the nation."

Kasuka is a graduate  of Chadsey High School, studied at the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts, and has worked with Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gave, Smokey Robinson the Miracles, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Sammy Davis Jr., Horace Henderson, and many others. He plays all the woodwinds, bass, piano, trumpet and trombone, in addition to composing, arranging, and orchestrating.

Located at 511 4 Ridgewood in Detroit, the Success Academy was founded on January 15,1970. It was in its embryonic stages in the 60's when Kasuka first put together an 18-piece band cal led the Success Orchestra, and the original concept has grown to include the Success Chamber Music Ensemble, Success Jazz Combo, Success Council, Success Drill Team, and the Success Majorettes.

Classes taught at the Academy include Instrumental Music, Vocal Music, Fundamentals of Music Theory, Drama, Dance, Kung Fu, and Concepts for Soul Expression.

Kasuka Mafia deplores the recent cuts in the Detroit Public School Music Program, making the point that "music plays a large role as far as character building goes- and it s a deterrent to crime.  "Gangs have proliferated in big cities because all kids have a need to identify with a group. When they join a gang, they have a sense of belonging.

"We think what we're doing at the Academy is a real alternative to this. We not only have music classes but a lot of other  group activity as well, like bike trips, picnics, ice-skating outings, parades, and regular parties.

"One problem with the field of music education as t now exists s that a lot of instructors don 't have performance experience. Students are left wanting when all the emphasis is on learning notes and theory. They don 't always get a chance to apply what they learn.

"Theoretical background is important, but at the Academy we also teach self-expression through performance."

More information on the Success Academy of Fine Arts is available by calling 934-5404.

-Patricia Hughey