Results for "Rhode Island"

2026 Newport Jazz Festival, Part 2

by Mark Robbins
September 4, 2026

Jazz at Newport has always been about more than keeping a tradition alive. It is also about seeing where the music is going. At the 72nd Newport Jazz Festival, that was clear in the wide range of music heard throughout the weekend, from jazz and soul to R&B, hip-hop, funk and experimental music. Artists ...

2026 Newport Jazz Festival

by Richard Conde
August 24, 2026

The Newport Jazz Festival was held at scenic Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. Artistic Director Nate Smith put together an interesting blend of established talent, including Herbie Hancock and Charles Lloyd, with new crossover talent such as Celeste and Angine de Poitrine. Friday highlights included NEA Jazz Master Charles Lloyd's Sky ...

Strange Heavens, Sublime Music: Linda May Han Oh Trio at the 2026 Newport Jazz Festival

by Dave Kaufman
August 17, 2026

This year marked the 72nd year of the Newport Jazz Festival and the first with Nate Smith as artistic director, succeeding Christian McBride, who served in that capacity for a decade. It was also my fourth year working the festival as a photographer and photo-essayist, an experience that continues to be one of the high points ...

Reflections on the Newport Jazz Festival

by Mark Robbins
August 15, 2025

It's not just about the music. It's about the morning 15 minute water taxi ride and asking the passengers who they're excited to see and hear. It's seeing Fort Adams, knowing the history that has been made there and more than likely the history that will be made there. It's seeing old friends, photographers I've been ...

Nicole Zuraitis: The Up and Down and Up Journey to Newport

by Mark Robbins
April 29, 2025

Nicole Zuraitis should receive a Grammy Award just for her laugh! It's deep, loud, energetic and a treat to hear. Not taking herself too seriously, her conversation is peppered with laughter while she talks about the high and lows of her travels from a struggling young jazz vocalist/composer to her surprising (to her) Grammy win. Her ...

Renewing the Legacy: The Day 2 Musical Odyssey at the Newport Jazz Festival

by Dave Kaufman
October 3, 2023

Day 1 | Day 2 | Part 3 The first day at the Newport showcased a multitude of performers who could be described as “beyond jazz" or “jazz adjacent." Their performances were greeted enthusiastically, and they added a palpable energy and a festive vibe. In the last two days of the festival, the balance ...

Ryan Peterson

Ryan Peterson is a jazz guitarist, band leader, and educator based in Central New York.

Since moving to New York in 2023, Ryan is quickly becoming an in-demand guitarist. In July 2023, Ryan led his quartet as the opening act on the main stage at the Northeast Jazz and Wine Festival in Syracuse, NY – a festival with a history of attracting over 66,000 festival-goers to downtown Syracuse every summer. In April 2024, Ryan led his band at the 2024 “Scott LaFaro” Geneva Jazz Festival in Geneva, NY.

As a band leader, Ryan leads the Ryan Peterson Trio in performances in Central New York, the Finger Lakes region, and throughout the Northeast. Having been called a “wunderkind” by CNY Jazz Arts Foundation, Ryan’s bands perform decidedly modern, virtuosic, and forward-thinking interpretations of Great American Songbook standards.

A Celebration of Excellence and Musical Diversity at Day one at the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival

by Dave Kaufman
September 6, 2023

Day 1 | Day 2 | Part 3The Newport Jazz Festival is one of the planet's most fabled and celebrated jazz festivals and it has been towards the top of my bucket list for a very long time. I have attended jazz festivals for almost 40 years since my youth and finally made it ...

Samara Joy at the Newport Jazz Festival 2023

by Stephanie Bernaba
August 29, 2023

Few musical artists possess the soul required to illuminate the entire history of a genre with their harmonies. Samara Joy, the 23-year-old jazz vocalist carrying nearly a century's worth of history in her voice, may be the exception. Joy exudes the presence of an old soul, coupled with a voice that draws in jazz newcomers while ...

Nate Smith: A Drummer's Life

by Mark Robbins
August 8, 2022

Nate Smith can't sit down! After headlining with two of his bands at the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival, The Fearless Flyers and Nate Smith + Kinfolk he is off to New York for a one week run at the Blue Note followed by Los Angeles, Europe and then back to the United States where he is ...