Newport Jazz Festival 2024
The 70th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival took place in August on a hot and humid weekend in Rhode Island. For the first time in recent memory, the festival, which takes place at Fort Adams State Park, sold out all three days. Of course there was great jazz but there was so much more. Since Jay Sweet, the Executive Producer, placed bassist extraordinaire, Christian McBride, as Artistic Director of the festival, the lineup has blossomed. Hip-hop, R&B, rock, and funk have all been incorporated within the festival. Jazz is not dead. America’s original art form is alive and well, bursting with new talent and most importantly there has been a renewal of fan enthusiasm. The 2024 lineup was loaded, filled with veterans and rising stars of the genre.
Performers at this year’s festival included Elvis Costello, Andre 3000, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, Thievery Corporation, Shabaka, Ravi Coltrane, Kenny Barron, and Aneesa Strings. My highlights included a slew of artists from every genre represented at the festival.
With its improvisation, jazz will often take you places no other genre can. Although 100 year old band leader Marshall Allen could not make the festival, the Sun Ra Arkestra demonstrated they are continuing to take jazz to its outer limits. Kamasi Washington asked the audience to close their eyes and imagine a trip to space. He attempted to bring us to the celestial heavens during his set performing “Interstellar Peace” and “Prologue” from the saxophonist’s latest album Fearless Movement.
Harpist Brandee Younger, drummer Makaya McCraven, and bassist Junius Paul paid homage to Alice Coltrane. The trio performed “Rama Rama” and “Turiya Ramakirishna” while including the movement ”Unrest I” and “Unrest II” which were composed during the height of the pandemic and Black Lives Matter. The reflective first movement unravels into the second, representing the mental strain, confusion and uncertainty of the time.
New Orleans was well represented at the festival. Galactic brought out the 83 year old R&B legend Irma Thomas. Ms. Thomas shared the stage on “Breakaway,” “Heart of Steel,” “Ruler Of My Heart,” and of course “Time Is On My Side.” Chief Adjuah (Christian Scott) delivered the future of New Orleans jazz while playing the “Adujah Bow,” an instrument of his own creation, and a set of custom horns. The son of a preacher, keyboardist PJ Morton brought positive energy and the sense of unity to Newport. His set entwined R & B, blues, soulful ballads, and hip-hop awakening feelings of love and inspiration. Morton’s gospel roots added an extra layer of depth to his performance.
The performance I was looking most forward to was The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis. The Messthetics are the trio of guitarist Anthony Pirog, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. Lally and Canty are the rhythm section of one of my favorite post-hardcore bands, Fugazi. The band leans towards jazz fusion. The lay it on the line vocals of Ian McKaye/Guy Picciotto have been replaced with Pirog’s shredding guitar. The addition of acclaimed saxophonist James Brandon Lewis made this performance an enthralling experience. Lewis and The Messthetics stepped onto the Newport stage and were all business. Lewis was given the space to improvise, Lally and Canty hard driving prominent rhythm drove the band, while Pirog melodies rounded out the group. After almost performing their album in its entirety, they were given a standing ovation.
Brittany Howard was given the opportunity to play at both the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. Both of her performances were nothing short of awe–inspiring. The former Alabama Shakes front person is now making genre-defying music as a solo artist. The band went right into the layered vocals and instrumentation of “Earth Signs.” The entire performance Brittany Howard was a presence of joy. Highlights included “Stay High,” “Georgia,” “Power To Undo,” and “What Now.” The set mixed gumbo of soul, gospel, R&B, and guitar driven rock. Howard and her band put on one of the best performances of the weekend.
During the weekend I had a ton of fun. I’m still trying to digest the sheer amount of music I ingested over the weekend. When I had enough of sets performed by Elvis Costello and Andre 3000, I simply sauntered to another stage and found something to my liking. Undoubtedly the weekend encapsulated jazz’s past, present, and future. I am already looking forward to the release of the 2025 lineup which is scheduled to take place August 1-3 2025. Sign up at the festival’s website for the festival alerts, updates, and newsletters.
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Show Review: Newport Jazz Festival 2023
