Music has a unique ability to unite humanity. As Ella Fitzgerald once noted, “Music is the universal language…. it brings people together.” This power is particularly evident when artists are willing to take inspiration from diverse sources. An openness to different ideas, regardless of where they derive, permits the creation of something more substantive than […]
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival’s founding in 1954. But the history is not as linear as it may seem. One can divide the seven decades into five different eras. Yet, as a lifelong Newporter like Ron Cudworth can attest, there is still a throughline between them all. He’s seen […]
Jazz music and dance have long had intertwined histories. For one, the music of people like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and the Dorsey brothers fueled the widespread craze of swing dancing throughout the 1930s and 40s. But, over time, the music changed. Bebop expanded chordal structures beyond their traditional realm. The avant-garde movements […]
The second day (check out day one here) of the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival, Saturday, August 5, 2023, can be seen as a masterclass on the intersectionality of tradition and innovation. Specifically, the day emphasized different artists that take traditional jazz ensemble settings, and stretch them into new areas. In so doing, the musicians proved […]
On Friday, August 4, 2023, the historic Newport Jazz Festival presented a highly pleasurable afternoon of music, as it has for almost seven decades. But across the day, one sensed something more. While audience members enjoyed themselves, a more significant message emerged from Fort Adams’ stages. Intentionally or otherwise, the event’s organizers presented an exposition […]
We conclude our series of 2023 Newport Jazz Festival pre-event interviews with a conversation with Christian McBride. Fittingly, our third interview with McBride covers his three roles at the Newport Jazz Festival: bass heavyweight, skilled educator, and curator. McBride’s bona fides as an artist are beyond reproach. He’s worked with legends of jazz – Gary […]
Jazz music has long had an interesting, albeit complicated, relationship with more popular musical forms. Swing bands were the pop music craze of the 1930s and 40s. With the emergence of bop, particularly during the postwar era, the lines between artful improvisation-based music and more commercial sentimentality became increasingly stark. But many artists – Ray […]
Often the best music seemingly transports the listener – by the artist’s direction – to another time and place. The music envelopes the audience, disorienting them temporarily but ultimately giving them a path to follow. While recordings can capture this mystifying experience, it is truly the live performance in which this intangible aspect is at […]
When one considers a historical museum, thoughts of those no longer with us often come to mind. Figures who made their mark but then left this world. Technically, the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens, commemorates the life of an artist who passed away over fifty-two years ago. But, in a much more real […]
Ingrained in jazz, hip hop, punk, gospel, and R&B, tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has discovered a unique way to give equal footing to concepts many would categorically divide. His broad perspective is largely based on his concept of molecular systematic music (MSM). The current subject of Lewis’ doctoral studies, MSM recontextualizes artistic influences through […]
