2007 JVC Jazz Festival — Newport

Newport, RI--George Wein and The Festival Network announced today that this year’s JVC Jazz Festival-Newport will begin at 8:00 pm on Friday, August 10 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame with a unique program entitled, Newport ’57 Revisited: The Legacy of Ella, Billie & Basie. Performing on Centre Court will be Dianne Reeves and her band and The Count Basie Orchestra with Special Guest Nnenna Freelon.

In 1957, the Newport Jazz Festival presented several of the greatest jazz divas on successive nights, with the tape recorders rolling the whole time. Shortly thereafter came the original LP, Ella Fitzgerald & Billie Holiday at Newport. And, when the Count Basie band walked onto the stage at Newport that same year, the very air was saturated with electricity. The nearly 8,000 fans in the audience could feel it, too—a sense of history in the making. Basie's set also went on record as the most exciting and hard-swinging performance of one extraordinary night.

Now, 50 years later, Festival Producer George Wein and Artistic Director Dan Melnick rekindle and celebrate that history by presenting the present day Basie Orchestra, led by long-time trombonist and Basie alum, Bill Hughes and two of the 21st Century’s best jazz vocalists, Dianne Reeves and Nnenna Freelon.

"One night this past fall, I was home listening to a reissue of one of the great 1957 recordings at Newport and then remembered there was an extensive collection of material recorded that year. It occurred to me that we should acknowledge the fiftieth anniversary of some of those sets at this year's festival," stated Melnick.

Today Dianne Reeves is considered the pre-eminent jazz vocalist in the world. As a result of her virtuosity, improvisational prowess and unique jazz and R&B stylings, Reeves was awarded the Grammy® for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings. On February 8th this year, Dianne brought home her fourth Grammy® for the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed, Good Night, And Good Luck. Dianne is the only artist in history to have three consecutive recordings win in a vocal category (A Little Moonlight, The Calling: A Tribute to Sarah Vaughan and In the Moment), and with her fourth statuette, she is clearly in a class by herself.

Concord Jazz Recording Artist Nnenna Freelon, has earned numerous awards including The Billie Holiday Award, The Eubie Blake Award and 6 Grammy® Award nominations, as well as accolades for her work on behalf of children and education. On her 2005 Grammy® nominated (Best Jazz Vocal Performance) live recording, Blueprint Of A Lady: Sketches of Billie Holiday, Freelon paid tribute to the quintessential jazz vocalist Billie Holiday. “Nnenna Freelon possesses that rarest of qualities . . . her phrasing is original, sometimes surprising, and often sweetly eccentric,” said Variety.

Recently the world famous Count Basie Orchestra teamed with multi-Grammy® nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon for their first-ever recording--they collaborated to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Count Basie's birth and 75 years of The World Famous Count Basie Orchestra.

Jazz is an American invention of the 20th Century and its sound is the “modern art” of music. In his 80-year life span, William “Count” Basie so expanded and elevated this art form that modern music’s connoisseurs around the world regard his legacy as an “American Institution”.

Thursday, August 9th

Anita O'Day
The Life of a Jazz Singer

Friday, August 10th

Dianne Reeves & her Band
Count Basie Orchestra featuring Nnenna Freelon

Saturday, August 11th

Branford Marsalis Quartet
Marcus Miller Band
Dave Brubeck Quartet
Zap Mama
Bruce Hornsby w/Jack DeJohnette/Christian McBride
Joshua Redman Trio
Chico Hamilton & Euphoria
The Brubeck Brothers Quartet
Monk Legacy Septet featuring Ben Riley
Kenny Werner Quintet
Gunther Schuller conducts the Mingus Orchestra
Roswell Rudd Quartet
Abdullah Ibrahim - solo piano
Anat Cohen Quartet
Ray Anderson's Bonacious Band

Sunday, August 12th

BB King
Al Green
Susan Tedeschi
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band
Paquito D'Rivera's Panamericana Ensemble
Luciana Souza - The New Bossa Nova
Ron Carter/Russell Malone/Mulgrew Miller
Jon Faddis' Teranga
Bucky Pizzarelli & Howard Alden Guitar Duets
The Music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk feat. Steve Turre
Ben Allison Quartet
Portrait of Bill Evans featuring Eliane Elias
Getz & Jobim: Harry Allen & Trio da Paz
Donald Harrison Quartet featuring Christian Scott