Created in 1927, The Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan, Limited – more commonly known as Japan Victor Company (JVC) – was originally a Japanese subsidiary of America’s Victor Talking Machine Company. The parent was the most prominent photograph and record company of the era, renown for its Victrola record players. By 1929, the Victor […]
“We’re Back” announced the front page of The Providence Journal, complete with a photo of a smiling George Wein, upon the news of the Newport Jazz Festival’s return to America’s First Resort. And while it was indeed a cause for celebration, the newly reborn festival differed significantly from its predecessor. These differences emerged primarily from […]
In the field of astrodynamics, azimuth is essentially a way of navigating based on an established location, usually true North. Even its etymology suggests use in voyaging as it was derived from the Arabic term as-sumūt, roughly translated into “the directions.” It is an excellent descriptor for a trio that has been spanning outward from […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
