[Dixielandjazz] Newport Jazz Festivals go Non Profit as 501 (c) (3) Corps.

[Stephen G Barbone]

 From the All About Jazz Site

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband

Newport Jazz & Folk Festivals Go Non-Profit Under Newport Festivals  
Foundation


NEWPORT, RI, January 25, 2011—The famed Newport Jazz Festival® and  
Newport Folk Festival ®, held in Newport, RI, since 1954 and 1959  
respectively, have returned to their original roots as non-profit  
events. The Festivals will now be produced under the umbrella of  
Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc., a newly-formed 501(c)(3)  
organization. They will still be produced by George Wein and his  
veteran staff.

“The Foundation will perpetuate the history of jazz and folk music in  
Newport and will allow these festivals, which have been my passion and  
life's work, to live on," said Wein, Jazz Impresario and NEA Jazz  
Master. “Little did we know that when Louis and Elaine Lorillard asked  
me to present a summer jazz event in Newport it would spawn two annual  
festivals that would capture the hearts of world-wide music fans for  
more than six decades."

To celebrate the formation of Newport Festivals Foundation, a Gala  
fundraiser is scheduled for Thursday, August 4, at Rosecliff mansion  
on historic Bellevue Avenue in Newport. Hosted by Bill Cosby, the Gala  
will feature stars from the Jazz and Folk Festivals. Honorary Co- 
Chairs for the event are The Honorable Lincoln Chafee, Governor of  
Rhode Island, and The Honorable Jack Reed, US Senator. More  
information will be announced at a later date.

Under the Newport Festivals Foundation, each festival will continue  
the tradition of featuring some of the world's greatest established  
and emerging performers. The Newport Jazz Festival will present  
musicians who follow the traditions of New Orleans, swing, bebop and  
modal as the heart of jazz music. In addition, the Foundation will  
honor the evolving cultural expression and freedom of creativity  
necessary to the growth and continuing vitality of the music.

The Foundation will continue the Newport Folk Festival by maintaining  
the excellence of folk artists in the tradition of Pete Seeger, Joan  
Baez, Bob Dylan and others, in addition to presenting performers who  
respect and honor these folk music traditions while reflecting the  
changes in today's music trends.

Through the establishment of partnerships with local elementary  
schools and colleges/universities, the Foundation will develop  
programs to help educate young people, primarily from Rhode Island and  
New England, as well as from around the globe, about jazz and folk  
music as presented at the Newport Jazz Festival and Newport Folk  
Festival.

Wein has formed a Board of Directors to advise and support the Newport  
Festivals Foundation. Board members include: Richard M. Cashin,  
Managing Director, One Equity Partners; Jerome A. Chazen, Chairman,  
Chazen Capital; Joshua Feigenbaum, Media Entrepreneur; Bruce S.  
Gordon, former President and CEO, NAACP and retired Verizon Executive;  
Elliot L. Hoffman, Founding Senior Partner, Beldock, Levine & Hoffman,  
LLP; Vikas Kapoor, President and CEO of iQor; William M. Lewis, Jr.,  
Managing Director and Co-chairman of Investment Banking, Lazard Ltd;  
Deborah Ross, Chief Administrative Officer and Acting Executive  
Director of the Foundation; Bruce Trauner, Partner, Beldock Levine &  
Hoffman, LLP; William M. Vareika, Owner, William Vareika Fine Arts;  
and George Wein.

The Newport Jazz Festival has been the beacon of jazz for 57 years. It  
is the scene of Miles Davis' resurgences in 1955 and again in 1984 and  
Duke Ellington's historical 1956 comeback. Over the years, every major  
jazz artist has performed at the festival, including Thelonious Monk,  
Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Louis  
Armstrong and Billie Holiday as well as contemporary artists including  
Herbie Hancock,Wynton Marsalis and Diana Krall.

 From its inaugural event in 1959 when Bob Gibson first introduced  
Joan Baez to the world, the Newport Folk Festival has created  
excitement. A few years later, Baez brought Bob Dylan to the festival,  
and the circle of innovation continued in 1965 when Dylan and the Paul  
Butterfield Blues Band went electric on the Newport stage. Decades  
later, The Pixies made a reverse statement and performed an acoustic  
set, continuing the tradition of introducing new music and musicians.  
In addition, Peter, Paul & Mary, James Taylor, Joanie Mitchell and  
numerous renowned musicians have put their stamp on the Newport Folk  
Festival.

The 2011 Newport Folk Festival is set for July 29-31 and the Newport  
Jazz Festival takes over the following weekend, August 5-7. Both  
events will take place at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at  
Newport Casino and Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI. Artists and  
ticket on-sale dates for both festivals will be announced in the Spring.