Happy Birthday Newport! 50 Swinging Years CD

Personnel: Muddy Waters (vocals, guitar); Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet); Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan (vocals); Eddie Condon, Freddie Green, Gabor Szabo, Joe Pass, Pat Hare (guitar); James Cotton (harmonica); Edmond Hall, Jimmy Hamilton, Peanuts Hucko, Pee Wee Russell (clarinet); Wladimiro Bas Fabache, Ernie Henry, Hans Salomon, Jimmy Powell , Johnny Hodges, Marshall Royal, Russell Procope, Paul Desmond, Bill Graham, Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone); Coleman Hawkins, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Harold Ousley, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Illinois Jacquet, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Paul Gonsalves, Wayne Shorter, Zoot Sims, Ben Webster, Benny Golson, Bernt Rosengren, Billy Mitchell , Bud Freeman, Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone); Gerry Mulligan, Harry Carney, Ronnie Ros, Sahib Shihab, Pee Wee Moore, Charlie Fowlkes (baritone saxophone); Clark Terry, Talib Dawud, Reunald Jones, Ernest V. Perry, Dizzy Gillespie, Dusko Goykovich, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Newman Quartet , Jose Manuel Magalhaes, Howard McGhee, Lee Morgan Quintet, Miles Davis, Quentin Jackson, Ray Nance, Roger Guerin , Roy Eldridge, Ruby Braff, Palle Bolvig, Willie Cook, Wendell Culley, Blue Mitchell, Carl Warwick, Buck Clayton, Cat Anderson (trumpet); Wild Bill Davison (cornet); Kurt Jarnberg, Christian Kellens, Erich Kleinschuster, Henry Coker, J.J. Johnson , Kai Winding, Al Grey, Albert Mangelsdorff, Lou McGarity, Melba Liston, Benny Powell, Bill Hughes , Trummy Young, John Sanders, Britt Woodman (trombone); Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Dick Katz, Duke Ellington, Mitchell Falls, Ellis Larkins, George Gruntz, George Wein, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Jones , Joe Zawinul, Mal Waldron, McCoy Tyner, Otis Spann, Thelonious Monk, Tommy Flanagan, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Wynton Kelly, Billy Kyle , Bill Evans , Billy Strayhorn, Gene Schroeder (piano); Lilton Mitchell (organ); Connie Kay, Roy Hanes, Francis Clay, Frederick Waits, Gil Cuppini, Gus Johnson, Jimmy Zitano, Jimmy Cobb , Jo Jones , Joe Morello, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Rudy Collins, Sam Woodyard, Sonny Greer, Tony Williams , Barrett Deems, Frankie Dunlop, Cliff Leeman, Charlie Persip (drums).
Liner Note Author: George Wein.
Recording information: City Center, NY (07/17/1955-06/29/1976); New York, NY (07/17/1955-06/29/1976); Newport, RI (07/17/1955-06/29/1976).
Director: Marshall Brown.
Illustrator: Annabel Wright.
Photographers: Alexandra Avakian; Don Hunstein; Vernon Smith; Chuck Stewart; Bob Parent.
Since its inception in 1954, the Newport Jazz Festival has been the event by which most music festivals (jazz or otherwise) are measured. Every year, musicians and fans from around the globe flock to Newport, Rhode Island for the festival, and this collection, spanning the mid-1950s through the mid-'70s, presents a cross-section of the many styles and performers organizer George Wein brought to the stage. Wein was mindful of presenting the roots of the music (the sanctified gospel of Mahalia Jackson, the sly stride piano of Willie "The Lion" Smith), along with its later branches (the unfettered sounds of John Coltrane, the thoughtful cool of Dave Brubeck). Getting the spotlight are iconic singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald), legendary trumpet masters (Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis), beloved big bands (Count Basie, Duke Ellington), and even a cornerstone of the blues, Muddy Waters. This 50th anniversary set is recommended for both hardcore devotees and listeners seeking an overview of jazz's history as seen and heard through a time-honored annual celebration.