{"id":2746,"date":"2021-05-09T11:37:23","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T16:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=2746"},"modified":"2021-07-10T21:09:04","modified_gmt":"2021-07-11T02:09:04","slug":"newport-jazz-part-xi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/newport-jazz-part-xi\/","title":{"rendered":"A History of the Newport Jazz Festival \u2013 Chapter XI: Futures, 1990-1994"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 1990s was a period of change. The geopolitical order in place for nearly half a century ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The first American president to be born after the Second World War took office, bringing different attitudes and policies to the office. Rapid technological development – specifically the rise of public access to the internet – brought together people from across the globe. Unsurprisingly, one can also find new influences in the music of the era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decade finds a rise of new jazz artists. Looking at the late 1980s, one would likely expect the \u201csmooth\u201d sounds that came to dominate the Festival\u2019s lineups to heavily guide this new class. But while  \u201csmoother\u201d artists would appear sparingly at Newport during the ensuing years, the movement\u2019s power was greatly diminished and generally not representative of an overarching musical trend. These new musicians also did not merely further the neo-traditionalist conceptualization of jazz. While they looked up to tradition, they were not as closely bound to adhering to it as an artist like Wynton Marsalis. Instead, the \u201cyoung lions\u201d – many of whom first became aware of the Newport Jazz Festival in their youth – were steeped in history but open to bridging it to new sounds and ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1990, a pending generational shift had not quite taken effect at Newport. While Wynton Marsalis had returned,  the vast majority of the lineup consisted of long-established artists: the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Frank Foster, George Benson, Joe Zawinul with the Zawinul Syndicate, McCoy Tyner\u2019s Trio, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Tito Puente and his Orchestra, and legendary salsa vocalist Cecilia Cruz. But the absence of any \u201csmooth\u201d bookings clarified that a change in the Festival\u2019s general approach was on the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n

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