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Review: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s ‘Axiom’

In the field of philosophical logic, an axiom serves as a starting point from which other statements are derived. It is regarded as an essentially true foundation for further developments built off of it. Originating from the Greek word ἀξίωμα (axíōma), the term suggests worthiness and equal balance as it extends substance to those crafted […]

Review: Marcos Valle, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s ‘Marcos Valle JID 003’

In the year 1500, navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral claimed Brazil as a colony for the Portuguese empire. Despite the region’s immense beauty, the measure was primarily a strategic one, beginning an era deemed “The Sugar Age,” in which millions of slaves were imported, particularly from Congo,  to harvest the resource and send it throughout the […]

Review: Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids’ ‘Shaman!’

In the early 1990s, Allan Wilson and Rebecca Cann reached a scientific breakthrough in their testing of mitochondrial DNA. Their findings further supported the replacement hypothesis, a theory that proposes a single origin of man in a taxonomic sense. Its essential holding is that every human being descended from a small band of homo sapiens […]

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter VIII: Fortress in the Wings, 1972-1980

After the destructive summer of 1971, George Wein wanted to keep the legacy of the Newport Jazz Festival alive but realized any continuation needed to take place elsewhere. He ultimately decided upon relocating the event 180 miles South West to New York City. By the early 1970s, the once-great home for jazz was in artistic […]

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter VII: Memory of a Giant, 1970-1971

In some ways, the near riotous circumstances at Festival Field in July of 1969 was a precursor of an event which would occur the following month on farmland in Bethel, New York. Woodstock featured a few artists who were in Newport the month prior – Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years After, and Blood, […]

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter VI: Electric Aquidneck Experiment, 1969

At the time of the first Newport Jazz Festival in 1954, there were two primary ways to enter the city on Aquidneck Island. From the North, travelers would cross the Mount Hope Bridge. But most traffic came from the West, where one would invariably need to take a ferry or other watercraft ashore. While there […]

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter V: The New Thing, 1965-1968

Despite its rough shape, the new site was at a fantastic location. Near the JT Connell Highway, it had sufficient space for both a large stage – more than a third bigger than the prior one – and extensive audience seating. It also allowed for convenient parking, a frequent concern at Freebody Park due to […]

Review: The Regina Carter Freedom Band’s ‘Swing States: Harmony in the Battleground’

American presidential campaigns are often very narrowly focused. One study showed that in the 2016 election a whopping ninety-four percent of events were held within twelve states with little, if any, attention paid to the remaining thirty-eight. The modern campaigning process often trades compassion among the populace for political power. The Regina Carter Freedom Band’s […]

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter IV: Revival, 1961-1964

Following the riots of the prior summer, there was no Newport Jazz Festival in 1961. However, the city had not abandoned the idea of being a cultural center for jazz. Instead, promoter Sid Bernstein hosted “Music at Newport.” In some ways, it emulated the original. It was set in both the same venue and time […]

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter III: Goodbye Newport Blues, 1957-1960

The 1957 Festival extended to four days – Thursday, July 4 to Sunday, July 7- with every minute captured by Voice of America. Most were also recorded, though much remains unreleased, by Norman Granz’s Verve Records. The first evening centered around Louis Armstrong’s purported 57th birthday* with plans to feature many artists who performed with […]