- George Wein
Infobox musical artist
Name = George Wein
Img_capt = George Wein. Photo by John Abbot.
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = George Wein
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Born = Birth date and age|1925|10|3|mf=y
Died =
Origin =Boston, Massachusetts
Instrument =piano ,vocals
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Genre =Jazz
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Label =Arbors Records
Associated_acts =Ruby Braff ,Howard Alden ,Warren Vache
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Notable_instruments =George Wein (born
October 3 ,1925 ) is an Americanjazz promoter and producer who has been called "the most famous jazz impresario" and "the most important non-player... in jazz history". [ [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/iviews/gwein.htm "George Wein: Dinosaur Walks the Earth"] AllAboutJazz.com interview, June 2000, Retrieved on April 1, 2007.] He is the founder of what is probably the most well-known jazz festival in the United States, theNewport Jazz Festival , which is held every summer inNewport, Rhode Island .Born in
Boston, Massachusetts in 1925, Wein was a jazz pianist in his youth and while studying atBoston University led a small group which played professionally around the Boston area. In 1950 he opened a jazz club called Storyville and established a record label by the same name. In 1954 Newport residents Louis and Elaine Lorillard invited him to organize a festival in their hometown of Newport, Rhode Island, with funding to be provided by them; the subsequent festival was the first outdoor jazz festival in the United States, [ [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/iviews/gwein.htm "George Wein: Dinosaur Walks the Earth"] AllAboutJazz.com interview, June 2000, Retrieved on April 1, 2007.] and became an annual tradition in Newport. Wein went on to start a number of festivals in other cities, including theNew Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and thePlayboy Jazz Festival inLos Angeles , and also established theNewport Folk Festival . In the 60s he set up Festival Productions, a company dedicated to promoting large-scale jazz events.Wein pioneered the idea of corporate sponsorship for his events, and his "Schlitz Salute to Jazz" and "Kool Jazz Festival" were the first Jazz events to feature title sponsors,
Schlitz beer and Kool cigarettes. Festival Productions' feature event is now called "theJVC Jazz Festival at Newport", and the company runs JVC Jazz Festivals in cities around including New York, Los Angeles,Chicago ,Paris ,Warsaw , andTokyo . Other title sponsors of Festival Productions events include Mellon Bank, Essence Magazine,Verizon ,Ben & Jerry's , andDunkin Donuts .Wein has received a wide array of honors for his work with jazz concerts. He received the Patron of the Arts Award from the Studio Museum of Harlem in 1995, and in 2004 was recognized with an Impact Award from the AARP. He was decorated with
France 'sLégion d'honneur and appointed a Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Commander of the Order of Arts and Literature) by the French government. He has been honored at theWhite House by two American presidents,Jimmy Carter in 1978 andBill Clinton in 1993. In 2005 he was named a "Jazz Master" by theNational Endowment for the Arts . His autobiography, "Myself Among Others: A Life in Music" was singled out as 2004's best book about jazz by the Jazz Journalists Association. Wein has received honorary degrees from theBerklee College of Music andRhode Island College of Music , and is a lifetime Honorary Trustee ofCarnegie Hall .elect discography
*" Wein, Women and Song and More, George Wein Plays and Sings" (
Arbors Records )References
External links
* [http://www.festivalproductions.net/04/About/ceo.htm Biography from Festival Productions]
* [http://www.nea.gov/national/jazz/artists_tour/wein.html Biography from the National Endowment for the Arts]
* [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=296 "A Fireside Chat With George Wein"] , by Fred Jung, AllAboutJazz.com interview from 2003]
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