Chick Corea Added to Newport Jazz Festival Lineup

NEWPORT, RI—Jazz legend Chick Corea is celebrating his 75th birthday this year in Newport with Friday night and Saturday afternoon performances at the Newport Jazz Festival.

The appearance of the 22-time Grammy winning pianist and composer is “something special,” said festival producer George Wein – a legend in his own right.

“Chick Corea’s appearance at the festival is something special, as Chick is from Chelsea, Massachusetts and used to come to my Storyville club in Boston back in the 1950s, when he was a teenager,” Wein said in a message to supporters of the Newport Festivals Foundation.

Wein, at 90, said he wants everyone get to his age the way he has “in good health with a good state of mind - because I can’t begin to explain the joy I have in still producing the Newport Jazz Festival after all these years.”

And this year, the annual Newport Jazz Festival is shaping up sweetly with organizers announcing Angelique Kidjo, Kamasi Washington and Tierney Sutton are on the roster of performers. There’s also the special George Wein/Doris Duke Artistic Programming Fund commissions from Peter Apfelbaum & Sparkler, Tyshawn Sorey & Alloy, Sullivan Fortner Quartet and Ben Williams & Sound Effect.

“We’re excited to begin rolling out the festival lineup in advance and giving our long-time and new friends the opportunity to watch the schedule unfold,” Wein said, noting that the first announcements are “just a tip of the iceberg.”

Wein will announce additions to the festival lineup via his blog, The Wein Machine, through January 21 when all tickets go on sale. Jazz fans are also encouraged to follow the Newport Jazz Festival and Newport Festivals Foundation on social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and tumblr.

For more information on the Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management, log on to www.newportjazzfest.org or www.newportfestivalsfoundation.org.

The festival is offering a special price for the holiday season, urging jazz lovers or friends and family of jazz lovers to give the “Gift of Jazz.”

Flex tickets that can be used for general admission on either Saturday or Sunday are just $59.

Flex tickets can be purchased on-line at www.newportjazzfest.org and in person at the Newport Visitors Information Center, 23 America’s Cup Avenue (www.discovernewport.org). Service charges apply with on-line purchases. This offer is not valid on reserved seats or for the Friday evening concert at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.