Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock and Chris Botti are among the headliners of the JVC Jazz Festival Newport, which announced its lineup yesterday.
A lot of musicians are pulling double duty at the festival, the first run by the Festival Network, which took over operations of the Newport folk and jazz festivals last year. The Friday-night opening concert, Aug. 8 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino, features Botti, with the R&B/jazz singer Ledisi opening. On Saturday, Aug. 9, the festival moves to Fort Adams with a main stage bill of Botti; the Wayne Shorter Quartet; the quartet of Dave Holland, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter and Eric Harland; and Ledisi. The Holland quartet will also headline the second stage, along with a trio including Charlie Haden and Paul Motian, and the dynamite New Orleans trumpeter Christian Scott returns to the third stage.
On Sunday, Aug. 10, the festival concludes with Rollins, Hancock, neo-soul singer Anthony Hamilton’s Blues Project and George Wein and the Newport All-Stars (with Anat Cohen, Howard Alden, Esperanza Spalding and Jeff Ballard) on the main stage. Highlights of the side stages include Guillero Klein y Los Gauchos on the second stage and Spalding on the third stage.
Trombonist Fred Wesley, who has worked with James Brown, Prince and more, will do double duty during the festival, sitting in with the funk-jam bands Lettuce on Saturday and Soulive on Sunday.
One band will be chosen to play at the festival’s third stage on Sunday based on a public vote from ensembles submitting tracks to www.ourstage.com/
Tickets for the festival go on sale tomorrow at 9 a.m. They will be available at www.festivalnetwork.com, by calling (877) 655-4TIX or at the Festival Network Ticketing Offices, at 770 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown.

projo.com


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