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 […]
The 1956 Newport Jazz Festival’s schedule was adjusted slightly compared to the prior two outings. While still a three-day event with a focus on nighttime performances, it was moved up a day to begin on Thursday and end on Saturday while also having an earlier start time. Much of the festival took place under torrential […]
By 9:18 PM on the evening of July 17, 1954, Eddie Condon’s tribute to Dixieland finally began its delayed performance. Next was vocalist Lee Wiley, a jam session, and then a series of musicians who in hindsight left an indelible mark of music: the Modern Jazz Quartet with Horace Silver filling in for John Lewis, […]
In September of 1950, twenty-four-year-old George Wein used his college savings to open a nightclub, Storyville, at Boston’s Copley Square Hotel. The venue boldly planned to present jazz in a new light. Taking its name from the legendary New Orleans district of debauchery, brothels, and flophouses from whence the music came, the budding entrepreneur planned […]
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 […]
