{"id":1354,"date":"2020-07-28T13:30:27","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T18:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=1354"},"modified":"2021-06-24T16:50:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T21:50:00","slug":"newport-jazz-part-v","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/newport-jazz-part-v\/","title":{"rendered":"A History of the Newport Jazz Festival \u2013 Chapter V: The New Thing, 1965-1968"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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 its presence in the middle of a primarily residential area with narrow streets. The new venue was close to downtown yet still far enough away to avoid significant traffic congestion. But the Festival Productions team faced serious hurdles in turning it into a concert space. Even up to three weeks before the 1965 Jazz Festival, the property still reeked of dead fish left from its former life. But due to determination and perseverance, they turned it into Festival Field, a home befitting of both the Newport Festivals with four entrances on the main road. It even had a helicopter pad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inclusion of a landing spot sufficient for two choppers was a necessary logistical feature to accommodate the year\u2019s scheduled headliner. Three weeks before Bob Dylan shocked the world by going electric at the Folk Festival, sold-out crowds at its sister celebrated Independence Day by seeing and hearing one of the most popular artists of all time: Frank Sinatra. Despite his role in a motion picture filmed in Newport and thematically centered around the Jazz Festival, High Society<\/em> (Metro-Goldywn-Mayer, 1956), it was the singer\u2019s first time at Wein\u2019s event. Indeed, the producer initially did not believe he could even secure Old Blue Eyes\u2019 appearance and reached out only as a fluke. It came at a peak in the vocalist\/actor’s career as 1965 was as Billboard<\/em> would call it, the “peak of his eminence.” Thus, the immense demand for tickets was unsurprising. Adding further to listeners’ ravenous appetites was the fact that Sinatra\u2019s backing would be the group with which he recorded It Might as Well be Swing <\/em>(Reprise, 1964) the preceding year: Count Basie and his Orchestra, conducted by Quincy Jones. In response, George Wein instituted a policy he never previously considered for his events. Anyone who planned to attend the Sunday night performance would be required to purchase a ticket to one of the other three days of the Festival. In many ways, this was more of a gift than a mandate as these other performances exposed many to sounds to which they may be less accustomed. <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>