George Wein

{{Short description|American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer (1925–2021)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = George Wein

| image = George Wein (14841153083) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Wein at the Newport Jazz Festival in 2014

| background = solo_singer

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|10|3}}

| birth_place = Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|9|13|1925|10|3}}

| death_place = New York City, New York, U.S.

| instrument = Piano, vocals

| genre = Jazz

| occupation = Festival producer, concert promoter, musician

| years_active =

| label = Arbors

| associated_acts = Ruby Braff, Howard Alden, Warren Vache

| website =

}}

George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer.[http://www.allaboutjazz.com/iviews/gwein.htm "George Wein: Dinosaur Walks the Earth"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215024329/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/iviews/gwein.htm |date=February 15, 2006 }} AllAboutJazz.com interview, June 2000, Retrieved on April 1, 2007. He was the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, which is held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. He also co-founded the Newport Folk Festival with Pete Seeger and Theodore Bikel and was instrumental in the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Early life

Wein was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on October 3, 1925.{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/13/arts/music/george-wein-dead.html|title = George Wein, Jazz Festival Trailblazer, Is Dead at 95|date = September 13, 2021|accessdate = September 13, 2021|last = Keepnews|first = Peter|work = The New York Times}}Souther, Jonathan Mark New Orleans on Parade: Tourism and the Transformation of the Crescent City. p. 119. His father, Barnet, worked as a ear, nose, and throat doctor; his mother, Ruth, was an amateur piano player.{{cite news|title=George Wein, Newport music festival founder and innovative promoter, dies at 95|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/george-wein-dead/2021/09/13/42c4f9dc-6d32-11e5-9bfe-e59f5e244f92_story.html|first=Matt|last=Schudel|date=September 13, 2021|access-date=October 30, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post}} Both of his parents were Jewish.{{Cite web|first1= Robert|last1= Cherry|first2= Jennifer|last2= Griffith|title=Down to Business: Herman Lubinsky and the Postwar Music Industry |publisher=Journal of Jazz Studies vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-24 |date=Summer 2014 |url=https://jjs.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/jjs/article/download/84/71 }} Wein was raised in Newton and began learning the piano when he was eight. He developed a passion for jazz while attending Newton High School, where he formed his first jazz band. He studied at Boston University, where he led a small group which played professionally around Boston. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he graduated from Boston University's College of Liberal Arts in 1950.Josephs, Larry (September 9, 1954) "Boston Beat". Jewish Advocate. p. 2."George Wein Named Honorary Newport Citizen". (August 4, 1966) Jewish Advocate. p. 4.

Career

After graduation, Wein opened the Storyville jazz club at Boston's Copley Square Hotel.{{cite web |title=History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Prologue: Born in Storyville, 1950-1954 |url=https://postgenre.org/newport-jazz-prologue/ |website=PostGenre |date=July 18, 2020 |publisher=PostGenre Media}} While the club was an initial success, after only six weeks it was forced to close.{{cite web |title=History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Prologue: Born in Storyville, 1950-1954 |url=https://postgenre.org/newport-jazz-prologue/ |website=PostGenre |date=July 18, 2020 |publisher=PostGenre Media}} It would later reopen at the Buckminster Hotel near Fenway Park.{{cite web |title=History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Prologue: Born in Storyville, 1950-1954 |url=https://postgenre.org/newport-jazz-prologue/ |website=PostGenre |date=July 18, 2020 |publisher=PostGenre Media}} Over time, Wein also established the Storyville record label. He also taught a course at Boston University on the history of jazz.{{cite news|title=David Roberts, mountaineer and dean of adventure writing, dies at 78|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/13/metro/george-wein-legendary-music-producer-founder-newport-festivals-dies-95/|first=Mark|last=Feeney|date=September 13, 2021|access-date=September 14, 2021|newspaper=The Boston Globe|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914075527/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/13/metro/george-wein-legendary-music-producer-founder-newport-festivals-dies-95/|archivedate=September 14, 2021}}{{cite news|title=Doctor of Humane Letters to Be Awarded to George Wein (CAS'50)|url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2015/george-wein-honorary-degree-bu/|first=Joel|last=Brown|date=May 13, 2015|access-date=September 14, 2021|publisher=Boston University}}

File:George Wein DSC0182.jpg

In 1954, Louis and Elaine Lorillard invited Wein to organize a festival in their hometown of Newport, Rhode Island, with funding to be provided by them; the festival was the first outdoor jazz festival in the United States and became an annual tradition in Newport. Wein was subsequently instrumental in the founding of a number of festivals in other cities, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival,"Latest news, updates, photos and videos from the New Orleans Jazz Fest." nola.com. New Orleans Net LLC. Web. March 23, 2012. and the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, and established the Newport Folk Festival. In the 1960s he set up Festival Productions, a company dedicated to promoting large-scale jazz events.

Wein pioneered the idea of corporate sponsorship for his events. His Schlitz Salute to Jazz and Kool Jazz Festival were the first jazz events to put sponsors in the title: Schlitz beer and Kool cigarettes. Festival Productions organizes the JVC Jazz Festival at Newport and JVC Jazz Festivals in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris, Warsaw, and Tokyo. Other title sponsors of Festival Productions events include Mellon Bank,{{cite news|title=Verizon's music deal|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/04/17/verizon-s-music-deal/|first=Babita|last=Persaud|date=September 9, 2005|access-date=September 14, 2021|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914080510/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/04/17/verizon-s-music-deal/|archivedate=September 14, 2021}} Essence magazine,{{cite news|title=Essence In New Orleans: A Festival That Knows Its Audience|url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/156494248|date=July 9, 2012|access-date=September 14, 2021|publisher=NPR}} Verizon,{{cite news|title=Giving Clients a Run for Their Money|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/16/business/what-s-new-in-corporate-special-events-giving-clients-a-run-for-their-money.html|first=Vukani|last=Magubane|date=March 16, 1986|access-date=September 14, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times}} Ben & Jerry's, and Dunkin' Donuts.

Awards

Wein 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,{{cite web|title=George Wein, Jazz Impresario: Pianist – Eyes of the Entrepreneurs|url=https://events.newschool.edu/event/george_wein_jazz_impresario_pianist_eyes_of_the_entrepreneurs|access-date=September 14, 2021|publisher=The New School|location=New York City|archive-date=September 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914083544/https://events.newschool.edu/event/george_wein_jazz_impresario_pianist_eyes_of_the_entrepreneurs|url-status=dead}} and was recognized with an Impact Award from the AARP in 2004.{{cite news|title=New Frontiers in Newport by Craig Harris|url=https://www.masslive.com/lifeafter50/2008/07/new_frontiers_in_newport_by_cr.html|first=Craig|last=Harris|date=July 16, 2008|access-date=September 14, 2021|newspaper=The Republican|location=Springfield, Massachusetts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914082508/https://www.masslive.com/lifeafter50/2008/07/new_frontiers_in_newport_by_cr.html|archive-date=September 14, 2021}} He was decorated with France's Légion 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 the White House by two American presidents, Jimmy Carter in 1978 and Bill Clinton in 1993. In 2005, he was named a "Jazz Master" by the National 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 received honorary degrees from the Berklee College of Music and Rhode Island College of Music, and was a lifetime Honorary Trustee of Carnegie Hall.{{cite web|title=George Wein|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/george-wein|access-date=September 14, 2021|publisher=National Endowment for the Arts}}

Wein was a distinguished member of the Board of Directors Advisory committee of the Jazz Foundation of America. He has also performed and presented at the Jazz Foundation's benefit concert "A Great Night in Harlem". He presented the Saint of Jazz award to Harry Elias of JVC America in 2002.{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicweb-international.com/jazz/2002/Aug02/Great_Harlem.htm|title=A Great night in Harlem : Jazz CD Reviews- September 2002 MusicWeb(UK)|website=Musicweb-international.com|access-date=October 29, 2019}}

Personal life

In 1959, Wein married Joyce Alexander (1928–2005), a gentile of African American descent.{{Cite web|first=Devra Hall |last=Levy |title= Joyce Alexander Wein: October 21, 1928 – August 15, 2005 |publisher=Sue Auclair Promotions|date=August 16, 2015 |url= http://www.devradowrite.com/?p=110 }} The couple established The George and Joyce Wein Collection of African-American Art.

Wein died at his home in Manhattan on September 13, 2021, at age 95.{{cite web|title=George Wein, longtime producer of Newport Folk and Jazz festivals, dies at 95 |url=https://www.newportri.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/09/13/george-wein-producer-newport-ri-folk-jazz-festival-dies-95/8325430002 |website=Newport Daily News |access-date=September 13, 2021}}

Discography

George Wein (Atlantic, 1955){{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-wein-mn0000649290/discography/all|title=George Wein – Album Discography|work=AllMusic|access-date=September 13, 2021}}
Wein, Women and Song (Arbors, 1955)
Newport Jazz Festival All Stars (Atlantic, 1959 [1960]) with Buck Clayton, Bud Freeman, Vic Dickenson, Champ Jones, Jake Hanna and Pee Wee Russell{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-wein-mn0000649290/credits|title=George Wein – Credits|work=AllMusic|access-date=September 13, 2021}}
Jazz at the Modern (1960)
Midnight Concert in Paris (Smash, 1961)
George Wein & the Newport All-Stars (Impulse!, 1962)
George Wein Is Alive and Well in Mexico (1967)
George Wein's Newport All-Stars (1969)
Tribute to Duke (MPS, 1969)
The Newport Jazz Festival All Stars (Concord, 1984)
European Tour (Concord, 1987)
Swing That Music (Columbia, 1993)

References

External links

{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403133516/http://www.festivalproductions.net/04/About/ceo.htm |date=April 3, 2007 |title=Biography from Festival Productions }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060127085742/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]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724130530/http://wellroundedradio.net/georgewein Well-Rounded Radio's 2010 interview with George Wein]
[http://www.relix.com/articles/detail/interview_george_wein George Wein: A Conversation with the Father of the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals]
[https://archivesspace.libraries.rutgers.edu/repositories/6/resources/298 George Wein papers], Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University
{{Discogs artist|George Wein}}
{{IMDb name|0918081}}