Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti, vocalist Cassandra Wilson and Dr. John are among the biggest names playing this year’s Newport Jazz Festival.
Festival producer George Wein announced the lineup Tuesday for the festival, to be held July 31 through Aug. 2. This will be the 61st anniversary of the festival.
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Other performers include Cuban-born trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, the band Snarky Puppy, composer and orchestra leader Maria Schneider and 11-year old Indonesian piano prodigy Joey Alexander.
Wein is being awarded a special Grammy this year for outstanding contributions to the music industry beyond performance. He founded the jazz festival in 1954, and later the Newport Folk Festival.
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Wein, a jazz-pianist-turned-impresario, came up with the idea for the festival after Newport socialite Elaine Lorillard complained to him that the summer scene in the resort with its Gilded Age mansions was “terribly boring” and needed some jazz to liven things up. Her tobacco-heir husband, Louis Lorillard, put up $20,000 to hold the event despite hostility from some locals.
The 2014 show hosted performances from the likes of Mavis Staples, Benjamin Booker, Ryan Adams, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Hozier.
Tickets for this year’s event go on sale Thursday.