Newport Jazz Festival

Newport Jazz Festival

McCoy Tyner and Ravi Coltrane perform at the Newport Jazz Festival on August 13, 2005.
GenreJazz, rock, pop
DatesAugust
Location(s)Newport, Rhode Island
Coordinates41°29′17″N 71°18′45″W / 41.48806°N 71.31250°W / 41.48806; -71.31250
Years active1954–present
FoundersGeorge Wein, Elaine Lorillard
Websitenewportjazz.org

The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hired George Wein to organize the first festival and bring jazz to Rhode Island.[1][2]

Most of the early festivals were broadcast on Voice of America radio, and many performances were recorded and released as albums. In 1972, the Newport Jazz Festival was moved to New York City. In 1981, it became a two-site festival when it was returned to Newport while continuing in New York. From 1984 to 2008, the festival was known as the JVC Jazz Festival; in the economic downturn of 2009, JVC ceased its support of the festival and was replaced by CareFusion.[3]

The festival is hosted in Newport at Fort Adams State Park. It is often held in the same month as the Newport Folk Festival.

  1. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (28 November 2007). "Elaine Lorillard, 93, a Founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Elaine Lorillard; helped start Newport Jazz Festival". The Boston Globe. December 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  3. ^ "Newport Jazz Festival". APassion4Jazz.net. Retrieved 2010-08-24.

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