- NEWPORT, Rhode Island: Featured artists at the Newport Jazz Festival this weekend include trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Grammy-winning bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding, and jazz great Dave Brubeck.
Brubeck, who has performed at the festival more times than any other artist, plans to sit in with his sons’ band.
The jazz event, first held in 1954, has showcased a who’s who of jazz stars: Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.
It went nonprofit this year, along with its sister event — the Newport Folk Festival. In addition, the jazz festival has attracted a new corporate backer: investment firm Natixis Global Asset Management.
The three-day festival starts Friday at Rhode Island’s Fort Adams State Park.