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The Newport Jazz Festival returns, after being canceled or modified 2 years in a row

Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater performs with the Memphis Soulphony at the 65th edition of the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, Aug. 3, 2019. (Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images)
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater performs with the Memphis Soulphony at the 65th edition of the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, Aug. 3, 2019. (Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images)

The Newport Jazz Festival, founded in 1954, was the first annual jazz festival in the United States. After being canceled in 2020 and shortened in 2021, the festival is back this year, and it starts Friday in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s the first since its co-founder George Wein died.

Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee talks to Christian McBride, the artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival. He’s also a Grammy award-winning bassist, bandleader, sideman and host of NPR’s Jazz Night In America.

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This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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