All Bases Covered at Newport Jazz Festival
July 29-31
NEWPORT, RI, July 2016 – For the six decades that the Newport Jazz Festival has been on the scene, the greatest bass players in jazz – from Ray Brown, Sam Jones and Ron Carter, to Percy Heath, Charlie Haden and Jaco Pastorius – have reigned as lords of the lower frequencies on its stage. That reign continues with four deacons of the down beat – Christian McBride, Dave Holland, Eric Revis and Ben Williams.
The time: 1989. The place: Wynton Marsalis’ New York apartment. The occasion: Marsalis and George Wein – the pianist and Newport Jazz Festival founder/impresario – are engaged in a swinging jam session with a teenage Juilliard bassist from Philadelphia named Christian McBride. As evidenced by his rich and riveting basslines, it was clear to both men that this wunderkind would alter the shape of jazz to come at the change of the century, and beyond. Now, McBride – who made his festival debut in 1991 as a member of The Jazz Futures – returns to Newport on July 29 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino and July 30 at Fort Adams State Park as a part of Chick Corea’s Trilogy with the volcanic drummer Brian Blade. His musical heroes range from Ray Brown to James Brown. He’s covered a wide musical spectrum, from straight-ahead and big band, to fusion and R&B on his CDs as a leader, including Number Two Express, Vertical Vision, The Good Feeling, and his Grammy-winning Live at the Village Vanguard. His sideman gigs include playing with Sting days after 9/11 and performing at the White House. He’s also a media host on his radio shows, The Lowdown: Conversations with Christian, on SiriusXM, and National Public Radio’s Jazz Night in America.
The time: 1989. The place: Wynton Marsalis’ New York apartment. The occasion: Marsalis and George Wein – the pianist and Newport Jazz Festival founder/impresario – are engaged in a swinging jam session with a teenage Juilliard bassist from Philadelphia named Christian McBride. As evidenced by his rich and riveting basslines, it was clear to both men that this wunderkind would alter the shape of jazz to come at the change of the century, and beyond. Now, McBride – who made his festival debut in 1991 as a member of The Jazz Futures – returns to Newport on July 29 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino and July 30 at Fort Adams State Park as a part of Chick Corea’s Trilogy with the volcanic drummer Brian Blade. His musical heroes range from Ray Brown to James Brown. He’s covered a wide musical spectrum, from straight-ahead and big band, to fusion and R&B on his CDs as a leader, including Number Two Express, Vertical Vision, The Good Feeling, and his Grammy-winning Live at the Village Vanguard. His sideman gigs include playing with Sting days after 9/11 and performing at the White House. He’s also a media host on his radio shows, The Lowdown: Conversations with Christian, on SiriusXM, and National Public Radio’s Jazz Night in America.
But, as fulfilling and formidable as his musical star has become, McBride’s return to the Newport Jazz Festival will take on a more profound and permanent nature. Last March, he made history when he was appointed as the new artistic director of the Festival. McBride is the first African-American, musician and the second person to hold that position after Wein, who founded the fest in 1954. Long-time associate producer Danny Melnick, was promoted to producer and will work with McBride. For Mr. Wein, McBride’s embrace of all of jazz’s wide-ranging idioms, along with his encouraging and engaging demeanor and stage manner, were crucial in his selection. “Christian fits the bill in his concern for all types of jazz,” Wein says to Nate Chinen in the New York Times. “He’s interested in the totality of the music.” In addition to his musical outlook and affability, McBride boasts an equally impressive record of educational outreach as the artistic director, co-director and advisor of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Jazz Programming at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), and Jazz House Kids, a community arts organization founded by his wife, vocalist Melissa Walker. “We’re talking about the granddaddy of all music festivals,” McBride says in the same New York Times article, “so this is very serious business for me. Newport set the template for every single music festival, and, having played there over the last 25 years, I’ve noticed the lineup always has something that everyone can enjoy. The music is much larger than our preferences.”
Washington, DC’s Ben Williams is one of the many bassists who came after McBride, and like him, exhibits the same kind of swinging engagement in a multitude of musics. He burst on the scene in 2009 as the winner of the Thelonious Monk International Bass Competition. He’s worked some impressive gigs with Etienne Charles (Newport, Friday, July 29), the all-star group Next Collective, Stefon Harris (Newport, Saturday, July 30), and most notably, he joined Pat Metheny's Unity Band in 2012. A bassist since the age of 10, and graduate of D.C.'s famed Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Michigan State University and The Juilliard School, Williams takes the stage on Sunday, July 31, at Fort Adams State Park. Buoyed by his quicksilver ensemble Sound Effect: pianist Christian Sands, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, drummer John Davis and guitarist Gilad Hekselman. Williams' rich and resonate basslines will ring out from his eclectic songbook, which ranges from his funky, go-go/jazz reimagining of Woody Shaw's "The Moontrane,” a 4/4, rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover," and his solo rendering of the Nirvana classic, "Smells Like Teen Spirit” – all from his 2009 debut recording State of Art and its 2015 follow-up, Coming of Age, along with the premiere of long-form work he composed on commission for Newport by the George Wein/Doris Duke Artistic Programming Fund.
“There’s a very strong wave of musicians in my generation making intense statements,” Williams says in DownBeat magazine. “There are no gatekeepers in the music anymore; we can make the music we want. The tree is really branching out. It’s jazz but it’s growing outside of the ‘jazz’ box. I’m proud to be part of this generation that is writing its own rules.”
Branford Marsalis, Eric Revis’ employer since 1997, said that his sideman had the “sound of doom” in his bass playing that it was “big” and “percussive. The California-born Revis’ is influenced by a pantheon of bassists: Paul Chambers, Gary Peacock, Jimmy Blanton and Israel Crosby. He’s also worked with a number of artists from many genres including Peter Brotzmann, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Billy Harper, Lionel Hampton, Ralph Peterson, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Cyrille, and the experimental trio, Tarbaby with Orrin Evans and Nasheet Waits. Also, he’s released some forward-thinking CDs as a leader, including Tales of the Stuttering Mime, Laughter’s Necklace of Tears, City of Asylum and Crowded Solitudes. Revis will perform music from his latest recording, Parallax with saxophonist Ken Vandermark, drummer, Nasheet Waits and Canadian pianist Kris Bowers joining Revis on stage on July 29, at Fort Adams State Park. Look for Revis, who studied with Branford’s dad, Ellis, at the University of New Orleans, to deliver a sizzling set that is simultaneously inside and outside: from the root, to the fruit.
"I think the deeper your roots run, the more you're able to expand. This is something I've always believed,” Revis says on Allaboutjazz.com. “... The idea is that this music is a continuum – you have to be somewhat versed and acknowledge the whole continuum – is very important … That's something I've always been aware of and held close to me. Going back and checking things out ... Jelly Roll Morton is extremely poignant. The records with Bill Johnson on bass. Pop Foster. It adds a weight to what you do. That's something I want to continue doing. I try to cover it all, but with an effort to strengthen and deepen the roots in shows. That's my goal and my intention."
The British-born bassist/bandleader Dave Holland is an inspiration to McBride, Williams and Revis. Ever since he appeared on the Newport Jazz Festival in the late sixties as a member of Miles Davis’ pioneering, jazz-rock-fusion ensembles (check him out on the recently-released, Miles Davis at Newport: 1955-1975 discs), Holland has always provided the right support, regardless of the jazz idiom, while maintaining a deep sense of swing. Along with his work with Davis, Holland has gigged with an expressive coterie of stars including, Kenny Wheeler, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea. And in the eighties and right on up to today, he’s been an outstanding bandleader, with ensembles that included Steve Coleman, Marvin Smitty Smith, Gary Thomas and trombonist Robin Eubanks (some of their best albums included The Razor’s Edge, Extensions and Seeds of Time). On July 31, Holland takes the Fort Adams stage with saxophonist Chris Potter, guitarist Lionel Loueke and drummer Eric Harland. If his latest CD, Prism, featuring keyboardist Harland, keyboardist Craig Taborn, and Eubanks’ guitar-playing brother, Kevin, and his 2014 duet CD with Kenny Barron, The Art of Conversation are any indication, look for Holland to float through musical styles as easily as his fingers move up and down his fretboard – with jazz fans loving every bass note.
“My take on the relationship with the audience is that you don’t want to underestimate their ability to hear the music, Holland says on the website Innerviews. “You want to be as clear as possible in your musical statement and not be obscure in terms of what it is you’re doing. At the same time, you don’t want to compromise on your creative ambitions because that’s the driving force that’s going to develop the music and keep it relevant for me. Outside of the audience, there’s the aspect of me needing to be interested in what I’m doing and be stimulated by it in a challenging situation which is going to continue to allow me to grow as a player and composer. So, there’s a balance there between all those things. What I’ve attempted to do is use Duke Ellington as a role model. He could present the most complex ideas but give them a setting so that very powerful elements like rhythm and melody would be carrying factors that would allow people an entry into the more complex aspects of his music.”
The 2016 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management takes place July 29-31 at Fort Adams State Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino. Artists also include Norah Jones, Chick Corea Trilogy with Christian McBride and Brian Blade, Gregory Porter, Angélique Kidjo; Kamasi Washington, John Scofield/Joe Lovano Quartet; Robert Glasper Experiment, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society; Charles Lloyd New Quartet; Tierney Sutton; Django Festival All Stars; Kenny Barron Trio; Stefon Harris Sonic Creed, Toshiko Akiyoshi; Steve Coleman and Five Elements; Galactic, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah; José James; Kneebody, The Hot Sardines, Anat Cohen and many others.
For more information and tickets, visit www.newportjazzfest.org.
In addition to the Festival’s presenting sponsor, Natixis Global Asset Management, support comes from Alex and Ani, North Coast Brewing Co., Toyota, D'Angelico, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Rhode Island Foundation, Ticketmaster and travel partner, WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM. The Preferred Hotels of the Festival are Hotel Viking, Newport Marriott, Hyatt Regency Newport and The Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina. Media supporters are DownBeat, JazzTimes, WRIU and WICN.
Washington, DC’s Ben Williams is one of the many bassists who came after McBride, and like him, exhibits the same kind of swinging engagement in a multitude of musics. He burst on the scene in 2009 as the winner of the Thelonious Monk International Bass Competition. He’s worked some impressive gigs with Etienne Charles (Newport, Friday, July 29), the all-star group Next Collective, Stefon Harris (Newport, Saturday, July 30), and most notably, he joined Pat Metheny's Unity Band in 2012. A bassist since the age of 10, and graduate of D.C.'s famed Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Michigan State University and The Juilliard School, Williams takes the stage on Sunday, July 31, at Fort Adams State Park. Buoyed by his quicksilver ensemble Sound Effect: pianist Christian Sands, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, drummer John Davis and guitarist Gilad Hekselman. Williams' rich and resonate basslines will ring out from his eclectic songbook, which ranges from his funky, go-go/jazz reimagining of Woody Shaw's "The Moontrane,” a 4/4, rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover," and his solo rendering of the Nirvana classic, "Smells Like Teen Spirit” – all from his 2009 debut recording State of Art and its 2015 follow-up, Coming of Age, along with the premiere of long-form work he composed on commission for Newport by the George Wein/Doris Duke Artistic Programming Fund.
“There’s a very strong wave of musicians in my generation making intense statements,” Williams says in DownBeat magazine. “There are no gatekeepers in the music anymore; we can make the music we want. The tree is really branching out. It’s jazz but it’s growing outside of the ‘jazz’ box. I’m proud to be part of this generation that is writing its own rules.”
Branford Marsalis, Eric Revis’ employer since 1997, said that his sideman had the “sound of doom” in his bass playing that it was “big” and “percussive. The California-born Revis’ is influenced by a pantheon of bassists: Paul Chambers, Gary Peacock, Jimmy Blanton and Israel Crosby. He’s also worked with a number of artists from many genres including Peter Brotzmann, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Billy Harper, Lionel Hampton, Ralph Peterson, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Cyrille, and the experimental trio, Tarbaby with Orrin Evans and Nasheet Waits. Also, he’s released some forward-thinking CDs as a leader, including Tales of the Stuttering Mime, Laughter’s Necklace of Tears, City of Asylum and Crowded Solitudes. Revis will perform music from his latest recording, Parallax with saxophonist Ken Vandermark, drummer, Nasheet Waits and Canadian pianist Kris Bowers joining Revis on stage on July 29, at Fort Adams State Park. Look for Revis, who studied with Branford’s dad, Ellis, at the University of New Orleans, to deliver a sizzling set that is simultaneously inside and outside: from the root, to the fruit.
"I think the deeper your roots run, the more you're able to expand. This is something I've always believed,” Revis says on Allaboutjazz.com. “... The idea is that this music is a continuum – you have to be somewhat versed and acknowledge the whole continuum – is very important … That's something I've always been aware of and held close to me. Going back and checking things out ... Jelly Roll Morton is extremely poignant. The records with Bill Johnson on bass. Pop Foster. It adds a weight to what you do. That's something I want to continue doing. I try to cover it all, but with an effort to strengthen and deepen the roots in shows. That's my goal and my intention."
The British-born bassist/bandleader Dave Holland is an inspiration to McBride, Williams and Revis. Ever since he appeared on the Newport Jazz Festival in the late sixties as a member of Miles Davis’ pioneering, jazz-rock-fusion ensembles (check him out on the recently-released, Miles Davis at Newport: 1955-1975 discs), Holland has always provided the right support, regardless of the jazz idiom, while maintaining a deep sense of swing. Along with his work with Davis, Holland has gigged with an expressive coterie of stars including, Kenny Wheeler, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea. And in the eighties and right on up to today, he’s been an outstanding bandleader, with ensembles that included Steve Coleman, Marvin Smitty Smith, Gary Thomas and trombonist Robin Eubanks (some of their best albums included The Razor’s Edge, Extensions and Seeds of Time). On July 31, Holland takes the Fort Adams stage with saxophonist Chris Potter, guitarist Lionel Loueke and drummer Eric Harland. If his latest CD, Prism, featuring keyboardist Harland, keyboardist Craig Taborn, and Eubanks’ guitar-playing brother, Kevin, and his 2014 duet CD with Kenny Barron, The Art of Conversation are any indication, look for Holland to float through musical styles as easily as his fingers move up and down his fretboard – with jazz fans loving every bass note.
“My take on the relationship with the audience is that you don’t want to underestimate their ability to hear the music, Holland says on the website Innerviews. “You want to be as clear as possible in your musical statement and not be obscure in terms of what it is you’re doing. At the same time, you don’t want to compromise on your creative ambitions because that’s the driving force that’s going to develop the music and keep it relevant for me. Outside of the audience, there’s the aspect of me needing to be interested in what I’m doing and be stimulated by it in a challenging situation which is going to continue to allow me to grow as a player and composer. So, there’s a balance there between all those things. What I’ve attempted to do is use Duke Ellington as a role model. He could present the most complex ideas but give them a setting so that very powerful elements like rhythm and melody would be carrying factors that would allow people an entry into the more complex aspects of his music.”
The 2016 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management takes place July 29-31 at Fort Adams State Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino. Artists also include Norah Jones, Chick Corea Trilogy with Christian McBride and Brian Blade, Gregory Porter, Angélique Kidjo; Kamasi Washington, John Scofield/Joe Lovano Quartet; Robert Glasper Experiment, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society; Charles Lloyd New Quartet; Tierney Sutton; Django Festival All Stars; Kenny Barron Trio; Stefon Harris Sonic Creed, Toshiko Akiyoshi; Steve Coleman and Five Elements; Galactic, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah; José James; Kneebody, The Hot Sardines, Anat Cohen and many others.
For more information and tickets, visit www.newportjazzfest.org.
In addition to the Festival’s presenting sponsor, Natixis Global Asset Management, support comes from Alex and Ani, North Coast Brewing Co., Toyota, D'Angelico, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Rhode Island Foundation, Ticketmaster and travel partner, WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM. The Preferred Hotels of the Festival are Hotel Viking, Newport Marriott, Hyatt Regency Newport and The Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina. Media supporters are DownBeat, JazzTimes, WRIU and WICN.
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Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc.™ was founded by George Wein in 2010 to build and continue the legacies of the famed Newport Jazz Festival® and Newport Folk Festival®. Under the auspices of the Foundation, the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals present performers who respect and honor jazz and folk music traditions, and at the same time reflect the changes in today's musical trends. In addition, the Foundation presents programs to educate young people about jazz and folk music as presented at the annual festivals. For more information, please visit www.newportfestivalsfoundation.org.
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The Newport Jazz Festival®, Newport Folk Festival™ and BridgeFest® are productions of Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, duly licensed. All rights reserved.
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