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George Wein
George Wein was the man who is arguably the father of the jazz festivals movement. Though he is known first and foremost for his long career as a jazz producer and impresario, George Wein is also a jazz musician. Though his far-flung activities have not afforded him a full-fledged career as a performer and recording artist, he has long been an active pianist in a swing/proto-bebop mode, making tours with his own all star bands. But it is as festival pioneer, producer, and all-around impresario that George Wein has made his principle mark. His company, Festival Productions Inc., has produced jazz festivals and concerts around the globe.
Wein first studied music with the noted Margaret Chaloff in Boston, later falling under the tutelage of Teddy Wilson at Julliard. Besides prepping as a pianist, George Wein had other ideas. He opened his first jazz club, Storyville, in Boston in 1950. One night he was approached by some wealthy residents of the resort town of Newport, R.I., who had eyes to fill what they saw as a cultural void during the summer months in their adopted community. Wein was keenly interested in the possibilities and was engaged as the producer of the first Newport Jazz Festival, established in 1954. The idea of staging a major jazz event with multiple acts on consecutive days had never quite coalesced the way the Newport Jazz Festival did it, and Wein was off and running.
Places as unlikely as small town Indiana eventually sought Wein's skills at putting together these festivals, and overseas opportunities beckoned as well. Later the Newport Jazz Festival gave birth to the Newport Folk Festival, and Wein had established a cottage industry. He also produced jazz concerts at major events including the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. In 1960, Wein established Festival Productions Inc. and went on to produce the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival in Cincinnati, the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, the Hampton Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Grande Parade du Jazz in Nice, France, and the Playboy Jazz Festival, first in Chicago later in L.A. where it continues.
In 1971, unruly crowds and the subsequent police action forced Wein to temporarily abandon Newport, R.I. and move his festival to New York. There he pioneered the concept of corporate underwriting of jazz festivals, first with the Kool Jazz Festival series, more recently with his JVC Jazz Festival series. As a record producer he helmed the George Wein Collection of recordings for the Concord label in 1983. His festival production enterprise has topped out at nearly 30 events, in the U.S., Europe and Japan.
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George Wein at 90 (from 2015)
by Leo Sidran
George Wein opened his first jazz club, Storyville, in the early 1950s when he was a young man. He then created the Newport Jazz Festival in 1954. The festival became an icon among music festivals and influenced the way music was presented around the world. I spoke to George just before he turned 90, in 2015. At the time he was still vital and vibrant, working tirelessly to further the mission of his festival and his foundation (Newport Festivals Foundation). ...
read moreGeorge Wein: A Life and Legend in Jazz
by Doug Hall
Last summer, in June of 2017, I had the privilege and opportunity to interview George Wein, founder and producer of the seminal Newport Jazz Festival. At 91, he was just in the process of supporting and transitioning the new artistic director Christian McBride into this demanding and critical role for the future of the Newport Jazz Festival, to ensure the continuation of the legacy. The impact of this festival has been historically felt by the jazz community for its breadth ...
read moreWein, June & Jazz
by AAJ Staff
As I write this, I am sitting in the Gran Hotel Havana in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. My friend Joan Cararach, Artistic Director of the Barcelona International Jazz Festival, and the festival promoter Tito Ramoneda asked me to join them in a collaboration to cross-promote our festivals. CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival (Aug. 6th-8th) and Voll-Damm Barcelona International Jazz Festival (Nov. 3rd-Dec. 4th) are now sister festivals. By the time you read this, I will have had the opportunity to perform with ...
read moreGeorge Wein: Back to Doing His Thing
by R.J. DeLuke
Not many people stand in shoes similar to the ones in which jazz impresario George Wein now finds himself. Having invented the jazz festival more than half a century ago, his name is synonymous with the Newport Jazz Festival, his first and most well-known child of that genus. He led a company that expanded on the flagship festival in the Rhode Island resort city and produced a number of festivals at one time, including those in New Orleans, Saratoga Springs ...
read moreGeorge Wein: George Wein Is Alive And Well In Mexico
by Michael Steinman
Impresario George Wein has given the music he loves invaluable support for more than half a century and no one would dare question that. But Wein also insists on being taken seriously as a jazz pianist and bandleader of the Newport All-Stars. His taste in musicians is excellent and his groups have provided gigs and record contracts for superb mainstream players. His long advocacy of Ruby Braff and Pee Wee Russell has been particularly commendable. This Mosaic ...
read moreGeorge Wein & The Newport All-Stars at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, NYC
by Martin Longley
George Wein & The Newport All-StarsDizzy's Club Coca-ColaJazz At Lincoln CenterNew York City, New YorkTuesday, October 2, 2007
The avuncular George Wein is beaming like he's holding his own personal jam session at home, inviting his favorite players and basking in their glow. Well, this is pretty close to the reality of this opening night at Dizzy's, and this is what the octogenarian Wein always used to do when programming the Newport Jazz Festival, only ...
read moreGeorge Wein: A Life in Music
by George Kanzler
No matter what you think of the jazz festival, you can't think of it without thinking of George Wein. In 1954 he presented the first Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, and it became the template for the modern jazz festival. Wein went on to bring the jazz festival concept to New York, where it has been an annual event since 1972, as well as to many other cities across the country and in foreign lands. His Festival Productions Inc. ...
read moreGeorge Wein (1925-2021)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
George Wein, who launched the outdoor pop-music festival business in 1954 and helped transform jazz from adult music heard in smokey, subterranean clubs to high art staged under the sun and stars for people of all ages on par with classical music, died on Sept. 13. He was 95. Though George considered himself a pragmatic, regular guy, everything that came out of his mouth was intelligent, thought through and kind. His passion for jazz artists and his ability to reason ...
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George Wein Announces Lineup For 2016 Newport Jazz Festival
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Carolyn McClair Public Relations
George Wein Announces Lineup for 2016 Newport Jazz FestivalSet for July 29- 31, Including Three Full Days of Performances by Some of the World's Greatest Established and Emerging Artists Performers Include Chick Corea, Gregory Porter, Angélique Kidjo, Robert Glasper, Charles Lloyd, Kamasi Washington, Django Festival All Stars, Galactic, John Scofield/Joe Lovano, JoséJames, Steve Coleman, Darcy James Argue, Mary Halvorson, Monty Alexander, Kneebody, Kenny Barron, The Bad Plus, Christian Scott and Many More Tickets Go On Sale Thursday, January 21, 10:00 ...
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George Wein Brings Storyville To Newport Jazz Festival
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Carolyn McClair Public Relations
NEWPORT, RI – George Wein’s life in music took its most important turn when Newport socialite Elaine Lorillard walked into his jazz club, Storyville, with a Boston University professor in 1953. Lorillard and her husband Louis were interested in bringing some excitement to Newport and the professor thought Wein was just the person to help. From that meeting, Wein developed the idea to present a jazz festival, and now, 61 years later, Wein is bringing Storyville to the Newport Jazz ...
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George Wein to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Boston University Commencement on Sunday, May 17
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Carolyn McClair Public Relations
NEW YORK, NY: George Wein, music impresario, NEA Jazz Master and Grammy Award winner, will receive an Honorary Doctorate at Boston University’s (BU) 142nd Commencement on Sunday, May 17. The founder of the Newport Jazz Festival (1954), Newport Folk Festival (1959), New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (1970) and countless other events around the world, Wein forever changed how music is presented and, at 89, continues to build new audiences for emerging and established artists at the iconic Rhode Island ...
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Berklee Honors Puerto Rico Heineken JazzFest Producer Luis Alvarez With George Wein Impresario Award At The Festival’s 25th Anniversary
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Berklee Media Relations
Berklee College of Music will present Luis Alvarez, vice president of Mendez & Company, Inc., and executive producer of the Puerto Rico Heineken JazzFest, with the George Wein Impresario Award at the festival’s 25th anniversary on March 29. Named after Newport Jazz Festival founder Wein, the award recognizes individuals who bring music to life through their dedication to discovering, mentoring, presenting, and promoting creative musicians and their music. Larry Simpson, senior vice president for Academic Affairs/Provost, will present the award ...
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Fred Taylor To Receive george Wein Impresario Award from Berklee College Of Music, March 11, At Scullers Jazz Club
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Berklee Media Relations
Berklee will present famed jazz promoter Fred Taylor with the college's first ever George Wein Impresario Award on Wednesday, March 11, at Scullers Jazz Club. Named after Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein, the award recognizes individuals who bring music to life through their dedication to discovering, mentoring, presenting, and promoting creative musicians and their music. The concert, titled Berklee Salutes Scullers, is produced by composer, guitarist and Berklee professor Bill Banfield, and includes performances from fellow faculty members Tia Fuller, George Russell ...
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Grammy Celebration Continues For George Wein & Festival Artists
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Carolyn McClair Public Relations
Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc. Celebrates GRAMMY Awards for Festival Impresario George Wein and Several Newport Jazz Festival Artists NEWPORT, RI – The Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc. continues the celebration of its Chairman, George Wein, who received the Trustees Award at the 57th Annual GRAMMY ceremonies in jny: Los Angeles on February 7 and 8. The Special Merit Award recognizes Wein’s outstanding contributions in areas other than performance, including the founding and production of the Newport Jazz Festival, Newport Folk Festival ...
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George Wein Announces Lineup For 2015 Newport Jazz Festival
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Carolyn McClair Public Relations
George Wein Announces Lineup for 2015 Newport Jazz Festival® July 31 – August 2, Including Three Full Days of Performances by Some of the World’s Greatest Established and Emerging Artists Performers Include Cassandra Wilson, Dr. John, Chris Botti, Jamie Cullum, Snarky Puppy, Maria Schneider, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Fred Hersch, Billy Childs, Bill Frisell, Arturo Sandoval, Ambrose Akinmusire and More Tickets Go On Sale Thursday, January 15, 10:00 am NEWPORT, RI, January 13, 2015 – After producing a successful and exciting ...
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George Wein Honored With The Recording Academy Trustees Award
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Carolyn McClair Public Relations
Wein Joins 2015 Recipients Richard Perry and Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil NEW YORK, NY – GEORGE WEIN, world-renowned founder/producer of the Newport Jazz Festival, Newport Folk Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and numerous other music events, will receive The Recording Academy Trustees Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in areas other than performance. The award will be presented at a special invitation-only ceremony on Saturday, February 7, 2015 and acknowledged during the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which will ...
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George Wein: 88 And Counting!
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Carolyn McClair Public Relations
George Wein Celebrates 88th Birthday, October 3 Celebration Includes Performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s The Allen Room October 3 and 4, 7:00 pm NEW YORK, NY: Eighty-eight. It’s a number that in China conveys good fortune. For ham radio operators “88” is shorthand for hugs and kisses. Astronomers will tell you that there are eighty-eight constellations in the sky. But for George Wein that number hits a little closer to home. This October, the world-renowned jazz and music impresario ...
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