George Wein, a former jazz club owner and aspiring pianist who helped found the Newport Jazz and Folk festivals, has died at 95. The Newport events set the template for many later musical gatherings, including Woodstock.
Wein, 95, died “peacefully in his sleep” in his New York City apartment, said Carolyn McClair, a family spokesperson.
Wein “can justifiably claim to have invented, developed and codified the contemporary popular music festival,” Santoro wrote. Wein didn’t only work with jazz musicians. In 1959, he and Pete Seeger began a companion folk festival that would feature early performances by Joan Baez and Jose Feliciano among others and track the evolution of Bob Dylan from earnest troubadour to rule-breaking rock star.Dylan’s show in 1963 helped establish him as the so-called “voice of his generation,” but by 1965 he felt confined by the folk community and turned up at Newport with an electric band.
Wein himself had been a pianist since childhood and he maintained an active music career, releasing “Wein, Women and Song,” “Swing That Music” and several other albums and making yearly appearances at the Newport festival with his Newport All-Stars band. He was named a “Jazz Master” in 2005 by the National Endowment for the Arts and received an honorary Grammy in 2014. Years earlier, President Clinton brought his saxophone to the White House stage for a celebration of the Newport Jazz Festival.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
George Wein, Newport Jazz Producer and Pioneer of the Modern Music Festival, Dead at 95George Wein, the legendary Newport Jazz and Folk producer who pioneered the modern music festival, has died at age 95.
Read more »
Full transcript: Former President George W. Bush speaks at 9/11 memorial ceremony
Read more »
George W. Bush condemns 'violent extremists at home' in 9/11 speech'The dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within,' the former president said on the tragedy's 20th anniversary.
Read more »
'Children of the same foul spirit.' George W. Bush compares violent domestic extremists to 9/11 terroristsFormer President George W. Bush called on Americans to confront the threat of domestic and foreign terrorism in his remarks at the Flight 93 Memorial.
Read more »
George Wein, Newport Jazz Producer and Pioneer of the Modern Music Festival, Dead at 95George Wein, the legendary Newport Jazz and Folk producer who pioneered the modern music festival, has died at age 95.
Read more »
NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman sentenced to 3.5 years in prisonNancy Salzman, co-founder of NXIVM, a purported self-help group that prosecutors say doubled as a secret high-ranking New York sex cult, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.
Read more »