Newport Jazz Festival
Fort Adams State Park
Newport, RI
August 3-5, 2012

While countless jazz festivals have sprung up in all corners of the world, droves of people still flock to the one that's considered the granddaddy of them all. The Newport Jazz Festival has been a testament to the power, possibilities and pure entertainment values inherent in jazz for more than half a century. It sprung to life as a byproduct of high society, but it's evolved into a joyous gathering with egalitarian offerings and audiences. Jazz impresario George Wein George Wein
b.1925
piano created a blueprint for the world to follow when he put together this one-of-a-kind, once-a-year gathering of the greats, and every jazz festival owes a small part of its existence to Wein and Newport.

The 2012 edition of the festival opened with a NOLA-infused Friday night gala, featuring pianist/singer Dr. John Dr. John
b.1940
piano and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band Preservation Hall Jazz Band

band/orchestra , but the two-day core of the festival wasn't nearly as genre-specific. Acts of all shapes and sizes stormed the stages to entertain the masses in their own special way. Saxophonist John Ellis John Ellis
b.1974
saxophone & Doublewide provided a Crescent City aftershock, as they opened things up on the large Fort Stage with their own modern jazz spin on the New Orleans sound, but the tide quickly turned when guitarist Bill Frisell Bill Frisell
b.1951
guitar arrived with his John Lennon John Lennon
1940 - 1980
composer/conductor project. While the guitarist has rarely, if ever, been accused of catering to populist tastes, he had a massive audience singing along to classic Beatles tunes and nodding their heads in approval. The overly polite All We Are Saying... (Savoy, 2011) didn't properly prepare the crowd for the highly interactive and occasionally psychedelic mélange that Frisell brought forth. Highlights included "Across The Universe, ""Come Together" and "In My Life," but in all honesty, nothing in this set was short of marvelous.

While the Fort Stage attracted the largest crowds, fans flocked to the smaller Harbor Stage and/or Quad Stage to see some killer ensembles at play in more intimate settings; gaining some tent-covered relief from the oppressive heat and humidity that held sway over the first day was a bonus. Bassist Christian McBride Christian McBride
b.1972
bass 's Inside Straight played to an enormous standing room-only crowd at the Harbor Stage and the action never let up from that point on.

Later in the day, trumpeter Dave Douglas Dave Douglas
b.1963
trumpet and saxophonist Joe Lovano Joe Lovano
b.1952
saxophone delivered a bristling set of music with their Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter
b.1933
saxophone -inspired Soundprints quintet. While the saxophone icon was the acknowledged influence, saxophonist Ornette Coleman Ornette Coleman
b.1930
sax, alto 's stamp was also evident in the group interplay. Drummer Joey Baron Joey Baron
b.1955
drums 's musical antics and bassist Linda Oh Linda Oh

bass 's springy bottom end helped to drive the band, as both musicians tapped into a seemingly endless reservoir of energy. Those who've heard some of Baron's sideman dates of late may have thought he was mellowing with age, but his playing at Newport said otherwise. Madcap fills, strong grooves and machine gun snare drum tantrums popped up frequently. Pianist Lawrence Fields carried himself in low key fashion, delivering manicured yet probing piano lines that contrasted nicely with the fiery horn work of the two leaders.

The final Harbor Stage act on Saturday proved to be one of the most memorable of the weekend, with three of the most important clarinetists in jazz joining together as one. George Wein made a rare appearance at the microphone, explaining that he'd been trying to get Anat Cohen Anat Cohen

sax, tenor , Ken Peplowski Ken Peplowski
b.1959
clarinet and Evan Christopher Evan Christopher
b.1969
clarinet together for three years and he seemed elated by the fact that it finally came to pass.

They opened up with bent notes-a-plenty on "The Mooche," the first of several Duke Ellington Duke Ellington
1899 - 1974
piano numbers in the set. Each player took their own solo turn and offered something different in their work. Christopher, who literally and figuratively stood apart from Peplowski and Cohen with his New Orleans melting pot mentality and throwback sound, performed his own "Tande Sak Fe Loraj Gwonde (Listen To The One Who Makes The Thunder Roar)." Peplowski and guitarist Howard Alden Howard Alden
b.1958
guitar visited Jelly Roll Morton Jelly Roll Morton
1890 - 1941
piano 's obscure "Why" in reflective fashion, while Cohen shed her Benny Goodman Benny Goodman
1909 - 1986
clarinet banner and moved to the Artie Shaw Artie Shaw
1910 - 2004
clarinet team for a performance of the clarinet icon's signature—"Nightmare."

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