A one-two-three lineup of crowd-pleasing jazz artists and sunny skies with upper 70's temperatures gave the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island its first complete sellout.
The Saturday slate of Chick Corea, Norah Jones and Gregory Porter packed the outdoor venue at Fort Adams State Park, with views and sea breezes from three sides of Newport Harbor.
The most popular act seemed to be Jones, who played a lengthy set of popular, familiar numbers and creative, deeper tracks. The singer and piano player sounded sweet and soulful throughout, despite having given birth to her second child jus a month prior.
Jones followed Chick Corea, the pianist playing with new festival artistic director Christian McBride. The trio's tight, trademark intricate Corea sound greeted the audience. His long rendition of Miles Davis' "All Blues" was certainly one of the festival's musical highlights. He however inspired some head turning disappointment when his set lasted barely 30 minutes, after his late arrival and start to give way to Norah Jones' set up.
Gregory Porter ended the Saturday main stage lineup. The singer showed great range during his set and kept the late-day crowd in their seats, lawn chairs and blankets until the end.
SMALLER STAGES PROVIDED INTIMATE EXPERIENCES
Newport presents music on four stages, with the smaller venues providing a different experience. John Schofield provided one highlight, plying with Joe Lovano. Schofield's guitar mastery might have been familiar to fans of his music, the facility he has playing unusual and interesting chords mixed with smooth runs up and down the fretboard. Lovano's sax seemed to please at least as many fans, as the jazz masters traded compositions beautifully synched.
Schofield and Lovano played a stage under a large tent, which accommodated a seated audience, while hundreds more gathered right outside the area to enjoy the music. Such vantage points might have had an obscured view of the musicians -- a video screen helped on one side -- though the sound quality of the tight playing was great even outside the immediate area.
Another of the smaller stages provided an even more intimate opportunity. Kenny Barron shined in a set that had people crowded around the seats under a tent, not much bigger than an outdoor wedding might have. Barron's light touch on the piano on very melodic and beautiful renditions of his compositions and others proved very popular and satisfying for the crowd, few of whom moved on to other stages once he started.
The younger, and perhaps less well-known to long-time jazz listeners, Kamasi Washington was a must-see. The up and coming musician, who's played with many other jazz giants, fronted a band and even invited his father, Richey Washington on stage for a quick session.
The venue offered more than 45 acts over the three days, giving audiences the chance to wander the grounds and always be within minutes of a next set starting. Some chose to find a small plot of grass, spread out a few chairs, a cooler and blanket, and never move. Others had their lists of favorites they wanted to catch on one or another stage.
A final notable aspect of the festival is sound quality. The mixes within each area were clear and balanced; more surprising was the clarity of voices, lead instruments and rhythm for those listening on the lawns, sometimes 100s of yards away. Perhaps doing the festival in some fashion since 1954 has something to do with it.
Newport is a 5 1/2-hour drive from Syracuse - and lodging in the area can be expensive - but the effort is richly rewarded if the Summer event fits your schedule.
