“I don’t want to let him or jazz history down,” said Christian McBride just days before he would assume the role of artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival nearly a decade ago.
It’s safe to say that he neither let down the legendary George Wein nor jazz history.
Of McBride, Wein had said, “he’s a together guy, an organizer. He’s a leader. When I say a leader, not a band leader – he happens to be a band leader – but he’s a leader of musicians. … I picked, I hope, the right guy. We’ll find out. We’ll see what happens this year. We’ll give him a chance for a couple of years. If it works, he’ll be there forever. “
Well, not forever, but for the better part of a decade. Last Friday, McBride, a bassist and nine-time Grammy winner, announced he was moving on from his position as artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival.
It was nearly a decade ago that I sat down with the remarkable George Wein in the apartment in which he lived and worked on the 27th floor of an upscale apartment building near New York City’s Lexington Avenue. Wein announced in 2015 that after seven decades he was turning over the artistic direction for the Newport Jazz Festival to the well-acclaimed bassist, Christian McBride, beginning with the 2017 festival.
And I spoke with McBride for a companion story.
It was an opportunity to learn of Wein’s remarkable career, spanning decades, from playing piano in seedy bars to founding two of the most renowned music festival – jazz and folk, in Newport, Rhode Island. And to hear from a renowned musician how he would shape a festival that for decades was built in Wein’s image.
Initially, McBride had said he didn’t plan on making “radical changes to the template that’s been established in bringing the best of every branch of the tree of jazz.”
But in his tenure, he certainly has put his stamp on the festival. It still brings in the iconic jazz musicians, but he’s reached far afield sometimes, appealing to younger audiences that are more diverse and are selling out.
There have been years heavy on piano or female vocalists, or musicians from McBride’s hometown, Philadelphia, or from across the pond in England. Both McBride and Wein, before him, brought in young and promising musicians who would grow to be stars in the world of jazz.
On Friday, when McBride announced he was moving on, he said that “as the festival continues to grow and shift, I’ve come to recognize that my vision is best pursued in other ways.I step away with deep gratitude for the experience and pride in what we’ve built together.”
So, from someone who has been going to the jazz festival for years, thank you. You’ve introduced me to many new performers and allowed me to see so many jazz icons.
