Observations from Day One of the 2021 Newport Jazz Festival

3 years ago

After a year canceled by COVID-19, audience members on July 31st, the first day of the 2021 Newport Jazz Festival…

Newport Jawn: A Conversation with Christian McBride (Part Two)

3 years ago

We continue our conversation with Christian McBride by discussing his thoughts on the connection between music and sports, his work…

Newport Jawn: A Conversation with Christian McBride (Part One)

3 years ago

From its founding in 1954 until 2019, the Newport Jazz Festival had been canceled only once, for a single year…

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter XV: Passing the Torch, 2009-2016

3 years ago

For most music festivals, the loss of a longtime sponsor could be a death knell.  After all, organizers killed the…

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter XIV: Destinations, 2005-2009

3 years ago

With the success of the 50th Anniversary event, Festival Productions Inc. quickly began work on the 2005 Festival. Like the…

Review: L’Rain’s ‘Fatigue’

3 years ago

Multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek, who records under the moniker L'Rain, creates a unique experience in Fatigue. The album is kaleidoscopic and…

Review: Questlove’s ‘Summer of Soul (… Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)’

3 years ago

Far too often concert films depict performances as just an insular moment in time. While Jazz on A Summer’s Day,…

Ritual for the Losses: A Brief Conversation with Jen Shyu

3 years ago

During her recording career thus far, Jen Shyu has drawn on a deep well of song, fable, and poetry from…

Review: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog’s ‘Hope’

3 years ago

Nobel physicist Erwin Schrödinger once noted that “[i]f a man never contradicts himself, the reason must be that he virtually…

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter XIII: Echoes of the Past, 2004

3 years ago

An intense and unceasing downpour left a twenty-eight-year-old George Wein with the difficult question of whether to abruptly cancel his…