Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc.™
Celebrates Successful 2013 Newport Jazz Festival®
Amid Plans for 60th Anniversary
Set for August 1 – 3, 2014
Wayne Shorter
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Esperanza Spalding
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Jon Batiste
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NEWPORT, RI, August 20, 2013 – Imagine celebrating your 59th anniversary with over 17,000 people of all generations and walks of life. And now imagine that it’s during a summer weekend in one of the most scenic locations on earth. And lastly, picture the soundtrack to that weekend coming from some of the greatest jazz musicians from around the globe. If you can picture that, you can picture the 59th Newport Jazz Festival® Presented by Natixis Global Asset Management.
If there was one theme that ran through this year’s Newport Jazz Festival, it was the blending of generations. It started right at the kick-off concert at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino. Opening the Friday night event was the Bill Charlap Trio, joined by vocalist Freddy Cole, brother of late Nat King Cole. After a set of smoky- voiced standards, his niece, Natalie Cole, took the stage for a headlining performance, showcasing one family’s own musical legacy.
For the weekend, the festival moved to the scenic and historic Fort Adams State Park. There, from three different stages, multiple generations of musicians engaged in a two-day musical conversation about the legacy of jazz, the current state of it, and even a glimpse into its future. On Saturday, in honor of his 80th birthday, Wayne Shorter took the Fort Stage. But because this is Newport, the celebration wouldn’t be complete without a guest appearance by former Miles Davis Quintet band mate, Herbie Hancock. (Later, Herbie would drop in to play with Terence Blanchard on the Quad Stage). Following Shorter’s birthday set, the stage was handed over to the 28-year old Esperanza Spalding, fronting her Radio Music Society.
All weekend long, all across the grounds, these generational batons were being handed back and forth. Sometimes they came from the keyboard of Chick Corea or the salsa rhythms of Eddie Palmieri or the cool, soothing pipes of vocalists Dee Alexander and Gregory Porter. Other times they came through the energy of newer faces on the scene; acts like the Donny McCaslin Group, the Mary Halvorson Quintet, and Ali Amr. Nobody will forget Jon Batiste marching through the aisles of the Harbor Stage, or the Robert Glasper Experiment pulsing the crowd with its R&B fusion, or pianist Hiromi bringing the crowd to its feet as she stood on hers to crash down a final crescendo. Nor will they forget standard bearers and rising stars mixing on the same stage, such as veteran Jim Hall pairing with up-and-comer Julian Lage, or drumming legend Roy Haynes leading his Fountain of Youth Band.
Next August 1 - 3, the Newport Jazz Festival will celebrate its 60th anniversary. Festival Founder/Producer George Wein says that he’s already planning for the party. If the 59th was any indication of how magical the festival can be, just imagine what is still yet to come.
For the weekend, the festival moved to the scenic and historic Fort Adams State Park. There, from three different stages, multiple generations of musicians engaged in a two-day musical conversation about the legacy of jazz, the current state of it, and even a glimpse into its future. On Saturday, in honor of his 80th birthday, Wayne Shorter took the Fort Stage. But because this is Newport, the celebration wouldn’t be complete without a guest appearance by former Miles Davis Quintet band mate, Herbie Hancock. (Later, Herbie would drop in to play with Terence Blanchard on the Quad Stage). Following Shorter’s birthday set, the stage was handed over to the 28-year old Esperanza Spalding, fronting her Radio Music Society.
All weekend long, all across the grounds, these generational batons were being handed back and forth. Sometimes they came from the keyboard of Chick Corea or the salsa rhythms of Eddie Palmieri or the cool, soothing pipes of vocalists Dee Alexander and Gregory Porter. Other times they came through the energy of newer faces on the scene; acts like the Donny McCaslin Group, the Mary Halvorson Quintet, and Ali Amr. Nobody will forget Jon Batiste marching through the aisles of the Harbor Stage, or the Robert Glasper Experiment pulsing the crowd with its R&B fusion, or pianist Hiromi bringing the crowd to its feet as she stood on hers to crash down a final crescendo. Nor will they forget standard bearers and rising stars mixing on the same stage, such as veteran Jim Hall pairing with up-and-comer Julian Lage, or drumming legend Roy Haynes leading his Fountain of Youth Band.
Next August 1 - 3, the Newport Jazz Festival will celebrate its 60th anniversary. Festival Founder/Producer George Wein says that he’s already planning for the party. If the 59th was any indication of how magical the festival can be, just imagine what is still yet to come.
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All photos by: Ayano Hisa
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