The Newport Jazz Festival Records (1954-1995) consist of two linear feet of historic materials, including minutes, correspondance,
notes, legal documents and publications housed in two document boxes and four clamshell boxes. The bulk of the manuscript
material covers the years 1954-1959, indeed there are no extant administrative records of the Newport Jazz Festival after
1959. The collection contains, however, a full run of official programs and schedules of the festival with some gaps.
Collection No.:
MC 038
Language:
English
Repository:
Rutgers University Libraries. Institute of Jazz Studies
One of the oldest annual jazz festivals, the Newport Jazz Festival (NJF) was organized in Newport, Rhode Island by wealthy
Newport socialites and jazz fans Louis and Elaine Lorillard. They engaged George Wein, then owner of Storyville night club
in Boston, as director. The first Festival was held in the summer of 1954. Although almost exclusively jazz-oriented, from
1958 Newport Jazz Festival included a sampling of diverse genres of music including folk, gospel, rock 'n' roll, and rhythm
and blues. Despite, or perhaps as a result of its steady rise in popularity and acclaim, the festival was temporarily canceled
in 1961 because of the city's allegations that it attracted unruly crowds. NJF resumed in 1962. By this point, the Newport
Jazz Festival had become a profit-making venture, a departure from its early years as a nonprofit organization. George Wein's
activities kept in pace with the success of the festival -- he organized a jazz component of the World's Fair in Brussels
with the U.S. Department of State in 1958 and organized other festivals and shows in Boston, Buffalo, Toronto, Cape Cod, and
French Lick, IN. Wein also organized a Newport Jazz Festival tour of Europe in 1962 and during the 1960s managed the Newport
All-Stars.
A riot in 1971 ended the festival's residency in Rhode Island. The next year saw the festival at its new home, New York City,
as the Newport Jazz Festival/New York. Because of financial backing from Kool cigarettes in 1980, NJF/NY became the Kool
Newport Jazz Festival and then the Kool Jazz Festival in 1981. The festival's name changed yet again to the JVC Jazz Festival/New
York in 1986 when JVC (Japanese Victor Corporation) became its principal sponsor.
The Newport Jazz Festival Records (1954-1995) - The bulk of the manuscript material in this collection covers the years 1954-1959,
indeed there are no extant administrative records of the Newport Jazz Festival after 1959. The collection contains, however,
a full run of official programs and schedules of the festival with some gaps.
The papers document the early years of the Newport Jazz Festival from its inception
particularly through George Wein's files. Wein's multiple business dealings, not only as NJF director but as an enterprising
club owner, are inextricably interspersed throughout the collection. Indeed, the first four series are George Wein's administrative
papers. Whenever possible, his personal/professional dealings have been separated from that of his work at NJF. However,
in many instances individual letters may contain information on his organization of the festival as well as the administration
of Storyville--to be sure, many artists played the Newport Jazz Festival as well as his Boston club and various other Wein
productions. But, the promotion of jazz and American music in general from 1954 to 1959 is well-documented by Wein's correspondence
with artists, agents, jazz critics, entrepreneurs, and the television and record industries.
The records also document a civil lawsuit involving Elaine Lorillard versus the Newport Jazz Festival in 1959-1960 and includes
transcripts of depositions from which a great deal of NJF history can be gleaned. It is entirely possible that this is how
the collection was preserved--since the materials end in 1959-1960.
The Guide to the Newport Jazz Festival Records, 1954-1992, consists of two linear feet of historic materials including minutes,
correspondance, notes, legal documents and publications housed in two document boxes and four clamshell boxes. It is divided
into ten series:
The records of the Newport Jazz Festival were donated to the Institute of Jazz Studies by Edith Lorillard Cowley and Robert
Cowley in three installments from June to August 1994. Because of the identity of the donor, this may explain the gap in
the historical record. The collection was probably originally part of the legal proceedings of 1959-1960 in which Elaine
Lorillard filed a civil suit against the Newport Jazz Festival. The programs were not included in the Lorillard gift but
had been added to the collection for sake of continuity and will continue to be added to the collection as long as the festival
continues.
This section provides descriptions of the materials found within each series. Each series
description is followed by a container list, which gives the titles of the folders and their
locations in the numbered boxes that comprise this collection.
Arranged chronologically by festival year; then by subject.
Summary: Mostly correspondence and printed material
regarding the administration of the festival such as booking, advertising, publicity and budget. Includes correspondence
between George Wein and agents, jazz critics and journalists, musicians, Newport Festival Board of Directors, administrative
staff, record companies, unions, and television and recording companies. Also included in this series are scripts for emcees
and programming documents. Specific correspondents and subjects include: Louis Lorillard, Marshall Stearns, John Hammond,
Nat Hentoff, Joe Glaser, Leonard Feather, Pete Seeger, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Burgess Meredith, Louis Lorillard, Bert
Stern, Folk Music Festival, American Federation of Musicians, Town Hall (NYC), Wilbur de Paris, Steve Allen, Newport Youth
Band, Norman Granz, Odetta, Marshall Brown, Marcella Cisney (U.S. State Dept.), Verve, Mercury, Columbia, and Charles Delauney
among many others.
Also included in this series are George Wein's personal/non-Newport business matters including Storyville nightclub and a
file on Dizzy Sal.
Box
Folder
1
1
1954 Festival: Scripts,
July 1954
2
1954 Festival: General Correspondance,
1954
3
1954 Festival: Correspondence - "Thank You" Letters,
1954
4
1954 Festival: Documents,
1954
5
1954 Festival: Program Draft: Music and Discussion,
August 1954
6
1958 Festival: Booking,
1957-1958
7
1958 Festival: Rehearsal Instructions and Notices,
June 1958
Summary: Documents George Wein's successful efforts to
form an International Youth Band as part of Newport Jazz Festival. Predominantly correspondence and promotional letters
to European critics and jazz people and some material on the technical implementation of the project with Marshall Brown.
Box
Folder
1
21
International Youth Band: Correspondance,
1957-1958
22
International Youth Band: Notes and Documents,
ca. January 1958
Summary: Correspondence which documents Wein's collaboration with the United States Department of State and various European organizers
and music critics to include jazz in the World's Fair and organize a concurrent European Tour.
Summary: Correspondence regarding the administration and planning of George Wein's non-Newport Jazz Festival ventures such as tours
of Toronto, Boston, and French Lick, Indiana, the Playboy Jazz Festival, and various festivals sponsored by the Sheraton Hotel
Corporation. Includes itineraries, budgetary information, ticket sales documentation, promotional and publicity, booking
and items regarding Pee Wee Russell.
Box
Folder
1
24
Other Festivals/Tours: Correspondance,
December 1958-March 1959
25
Other Festivals/Tours: Correspondance,
March-June 1959
26
Other Festivals: Sheraton Hotel Corporation,
undated
Summary: Documentation of an attempt by Pierre Lorillard and Mahler Ryder, President of Rhode Island School of Design, to establish
a Jazz Hall of Fame in Rhode Island. Includes correspondance, proposals, meeting minutes, and grant applications regarding
the conceptualization, planning, and implementation of a jazz museum and research facility.
Box
Folder
1
27
American Jazz Hall of Fame: Correspondance,
1982-1983
28
American Jazz Hall of Fame: Correspondance,
1984-1985
29
American Jazz Hall of Fame: Mahler Ryder,
1983-1984
30
American Jazz Hall of Fame: Documents,
1982-1983
31
Drawing and Narragansett Beer Advertisement - anonymous,
undated
32
Letter with local newspaper article copy (1959),
1982
Summary: Transcripts of depositions taken in support of the civil lawsuit of Elaine Lorillard versus the Newport Jazz Festival, Inc.
from 1959-1960. Also includes a contract for Jeri Southern.
1963 (2 c.); Concert Tour Program, ca. 1959; 1965; 1966 (2 c.); 1967 (2 c.); 1967 (2 c.); 1968; 1969; 1970 (2 c.); 1971
(2 c.); 1972 (Newport Jazz Festival/ New York) (3 c.)
Box
5
1973 (3 c.); 1976; 1977 (3 c.); 1979 (3 c.)--Newport Jazz Festival--New York, Saratoga; 1980 (3 c.) Kool Newport Jazz Festival/New
York; 1981 (2 c.) Kool Jazz Festival NY; 1982; 1983.
Box
6
1984; 1985 (JVC Jazz Festival); 1988; 1989 (2 c.); 1990; 1991 (3 c.); 1993 (3 c.); 1994; 1995 (2 c.); Schedule of
Events for: 1973; 1981; 1983; 1984; 1985; 1987; 1988; 1990; 1992; and undated and Nice 1988.
