Special Series

Observations from Day Three of the 2021 Newport Jazz Festival

Jimmy Heath. Tony Allen. Chick Corea. Wallace Roney. McCoy Tyner. The names and pictures of iconic artists who passed since…

3 years ago

Observations from Day Two of the 2021 Newport Jazz Festival

2020 was a pivotal year in the history of civil rights. While a prominent case, George Floyd’s murder was no…

3 years ago

Observations from Day One of the 2021 Newport Jazz Festival

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

3 years ago

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

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

3 years ago

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

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

3 years ago

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

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

3 years ago

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

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

3 years ago

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

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

3 years ago

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter XII: Expansion, 1995-2003

In the four decades since the Newport Jazz festival first took place in 1954, it became a global brand with…

3 years ago

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter XI: Futures, 1990-1994

The 1990s was a period of change. The geopolitical order in place for nearly half a century ended with the…

3 years ago