Cullum, Marsalis, Botti to play jazz fest

By Ted Nesi
PBN Web Editor

NEWPORT – Jamie Cullum, Wynton Marsalis and Chris Botti are among the big names who will visit the City by the Sea in August for the CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival, longtime organizer George Wein said Tuesday.

The annual event, now in its 56th year, is scheduled for Aug. 6 to 8. Other performers will include Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Bob Brookmeyer.

CareFusion Corp., a San Diego-based medical products company, began sponsoring the jazz festivals in Newport and elsewhere around the world last year. Wein, who produced the original Newport Jazz Festival in 1954, said he was grateful for the company’s continued support.

“There is nothing like celebrating jazz in Newport,” he said in a statement. “It’s fun, it’s a gorgeous setting and there’s sure to be more than a few memorable moments throughout the three days.”

Wein sold his company, Festival Productions, to a firm called the Festival Network in 2007, but eventually broke ties with the company.

Wein then formed a new firm, New Festival Productions LLC, to produce both the jazz festival and its sister event, the Newport Folk Festival, which this year is scheduled for July 30 to Aug. 1.

Tickets for the jazz festival go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster and on the festival’s Web site. For more information, call (401) 848-5055.

The artists scheduled to appear this year’s Newport Jazz Festival are:

Friday, Aug. 6

• Jamie Cullum
• Grace Kelly

Saturday, Aug. 7

• Chick Corea Freedom Band with Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride & Roy Haynes
• Jamie Cullum
• Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra
• Ahmad Jamal
• Jazz Mafia’s Brass, Bows & Beats
• Anat Cohen
• Newport All-Stars with Howard Alden, Randy Brecker, Randy Sandke & George Wein and special guest Bob Brookmeyer
• Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing
• Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society with special guest Bob Brookmeyer
• Fly: Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier & Mark Turner
• JD Allen Trio
• Julian Lage Group
• Trio Da Paz with Harry Allen
• Rez Abbasi’s Acoustic Quartet
• Berklee Global Jazz Institute Septet

Sunday, Aug. 8

• Herbie Hancock
• Chris Botti
• Wynton Marsalis
• Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
• Amina Figarova
• Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side of Herbie
• Jon Faddis
• Ken Vandermark’s Powerhouse Sound
• David Binney Band featuring Brian Blade, Craig Taborn & Eivind Opsvik
• Marshall Allen-Matthew Shipp-Joe Morris
• Jason Moran Bandwagon with Jenny Scheinman
• Ben Allison Band with Jenny Scheinman, Shane Endsley, Steve Cardenas & Rudy Royston
• Gretchen Parlato
• Matt Wilson Quartet

Additional information is available at newportjazzfest.net.