Five Genre-Defying Selections from the Newport Jazz Festival’s First Wave of 2020 Performers

The historic Newport Jazz Festival has released a list of 36, out of approximately 60, groups which will appear across its four stages at Fort Adams this summer. As the first modern music festival, one may mistakenly assume that most of the acts reflect a more traditional view of jazz. While some masters of this sound undoubtedly appear – including Wynton Marsalis and a series called “The History of Jazz” (Tuba Skinny, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, David Ostwalt’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Mike Davis’ The New Wonders, and Colin Hancock and his Signature Seven) – it is refreshing how many straddle the line between musical styles. Here are five of these category defying artists. 

Makaya McCraven

Beat Scientist and drummer McCraven performed at last summer’s festival, his first time as a leader and on a date that coincidentally corresponded with his 10th wedding anniversary. Joined by an impressive band including vibraphonist Joel Ross (himself appearing this summer as part of the Jazz Gallery All-Stars), the group pleased the crowd with its unique fusion of jazz, hip hop, and rock. This time, he is promoting his newest release, We’re New Again (XL Records, 2020), a reimagining of Gil Scott-Heron’s final work. Scott-Heron, of course, being the soul and R&B singer whom many also view as one of the first rappers. With him are artists – guitarist Jeff Parker, harpist Brandee Younger, bassist Junius Paul, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Lamar Gay- themselves known for pushing musical boundaries, McCraven’s tribute combines jazz, blues, hip hop, and soul among others and should be even more enthralling than last year’s set.

The Comet is Coming

For anyone well versed in the London jazz scene, Shabaka Hutchings should be a familiar name. Like McCraven, the saxophonist appeared at Newport in 2019, that time with his group Sons of Kemet, which left the entire crowd bopping and dancing by their seats. He returns this year with The Comet is Coming, an incomparable trio with keyboardist Dan Leavers, and drummer Max Hallett. The group  draws from rock, EDM, psychedelic, soul, funk, and jazz to forge a distinctive sound that is highly original and futuristic. The band’s appearance follows significant critical acclaim for their two most recent albums, Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery (Impulse! Records, 2019) and The Afterlife (Impulse! Records, 2019), including placement on this writer’s best of the year list. 

Khruangbin

Houston-based Khruangbin is perhaps the most difficult act to label at this year’s festival. Their name, which translates to “flying engine” or airplane in Thai, is perfect for their music as it often crosses borders and cultures. The trio – bassist Laura Lee, guitarist Mark Speer and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson- recently teamed up with their fellow Lonestar State musician Leon Bridges to produce the EP, Texas Sun (Night Time Stories, 2020), which deftly melds gospel, zydeco, country, psychedelic, New Orleans second-line, Tejano, R&B and Texas rap. Their prior recordings borrowed approaches from Southeast Asian pop and rock and Middle-Eastern funk and soul. It is nearly impossible to predict the music they will present at Newport, and this uncertainty is indeed part of the fun.

The Soul Rebels

New Orleans brass bands are nothing new, dating back to at least the late 19th Century. However, they still very much remain an integral part of their home city’s culture. While some still ascribe to the more old-fashioned sound, others have updated it to incorporate newer musical ideas as well. The Soul Rebels’ are in the latter, utilizing not just jazz and brass band sound but also soul, hip-hop, funk, rock, and pop music. As the Village Voice has noted, the Soul Rebels can be seen as “the missing link between Public Enemy and Louis Armstrong.” The group- percussionists Lumar LeBlanc and Derrick Moss, trumpeters Julian Gosin and Marcus Hubbard, trombonists Corey Peyton and Paul Robertson, saxophonist Erion Williams, and sousaphonist Manuel Perkins Jr.- has also performed with a wide range of other musicians. Their collaborators have included everyone from Branford Marsalis to Jack White to Kanye West.

Robert Glasper

Over the past decade, pianist Glasper has established himself as the king of merging jazz with hip hop, soul, and R&B. 2012’s Black Radio (Blue Note Records, 2012) in some ways opened the floodgates for many of the other artists who would produce a similar sound over the next almost decade. He also played a significant role on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly (Interscope Records, 2015), a modern post-genre masterpiece. Glasper has appeared at Newport several times over the years, however, this year will be special as he has been selected as the Artist in Residence for the Festival. This role provides him the opportunity to present three different sets, one for each day of the event. While further details have not yet been announced, based on his residency this past December at the Blue Note Jazz Club, one can anticipate anything from an acoustic jazz trio to a tribute to Stevie Wonder or J Dilla. 

The above are just five out of many at the Newport Jazz Festival this summer who transcend traditional genre bounds. Others include Nicholas Payton, Norah Jones, Nate Smith and Kinfolk, Nubya Garcia, Vulfpeck’s Cory Wong, and A Christian McBride Situation.

This year’s Newport Jazz Festival (https://www.newportjazz.org) takes place August 7-9, 2020 in Newport, Rhode Island. PostGenre will continue to provide extensive coverage of the Festival this spring and summer, including live reporting from the event.