New Newport, KY Jazz Festival coming in May | Arts & Culture

NEWPORT, KY (FOX19) - Newport on the Levee is bringing jazz to its spaces this spring as the inaugural Newport, KY Jazz Festival kicks-off Mother’s Day weekend, May 12th – 13th. Music lovers are invited down to the Newport Riverfront for a weekend of diverse jazz bands and great beverages.

Ticket sales begin on Thursday, March 15th and may be purchased through www.newportonthelevee.com.

If Newport and Jazz sound like they go together, there are several reasons for that.  The famous Newport Jazz Festival is held in Newport, Rhode Island each summer.  People who listened to AM radio in the 60’s and 70’s may remember a jazz and comedy format on WNOP radio, licensed to Newport, that was broadcast from Monmouth street and then from floating studios on the river.  The announcers made frequent references to Newport.  In recent years, there was also an art and jazz festival in the city. 

The new festival will feature several of the area’s top artists and groups.

Jazz Festival Ticket Prices and Times

VIP tickets include chair seating and access to the special VIP hospitality area.
Saturday, May 12th $15 VIP; $10 Lawn
Sunday, May 13th $10 VIP; $5 Lawn
2-Day Ticket Price $20 VIP; $12 Lawn

Jazz Festival Line-Up

Saturday, May 12th 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. Old Green Eyes, Traditional Jazz
3:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Monk River, Latin Jazz
7:00 p.m. – 10 p.m. Cincy Brass, Modern Jazz

Sunday, May 13th 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Sound Body, Vocal and Orchestral Jazz
3:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Blue Wisp Band, Big Band Jazz

Jazz Festival Band Biographies

Old Green Eyes, Traditional Jazz
Dan Radank, AKA Old Green Eyes, is a jazz singer and trumpet player who is a throw-back to the Sinatra era, focusing on the American Songbook and great jazz standards. Either in a duet or a big band, Old Green Eyes sound is memorable bringing the standards back to a new generation.

Monk River, Latin Jazz
Monk River was created in the summer of 2009 by pianist Pablo Benavides with the idea of playing original music with the powerful Latin rhythms of the 70’s and harmonic innovations of modern jazz. In order to achieve a great musical fusion, Monk River counts on the expertise of great musicians from both the Latin and Jazz worlds.

Cincy Brass, Modern Jazz
“N’awlins Soul Meets Cincinnati Funk” – That is the best way to describe the Cincy Brass. This 9-piece brass band has the essence of Bourbon Street, funk, hip-hop, and jazz all wrapped into an epic explosion of sound and passion. Whether it’s an original off of their upcoming album, a twist on a pop hit (Beyonce, James Brown, Def Leppard, Lady Gaga, etc.), or an old time N’awlins street music hit, Cincy Brass delivers a performance that cannot be duplicated.

Sound Body, Vocal and Orchestral Jazz
Formed in 1992 as a collaboration of Cincinnati, Ohio’s Roger Bacon High School Alumni Band, Sound Body has received tremendous response to its eclectic combination of classic big band swing with contemporary jazz and fusion. The band’s name, which is adapted from the high school’s Latin motto, “Mens Sana en Corpore Sano” (A Sound Mind in a Sound Body), is quite appropriate, given the powerhouse ensemble work that is the trademark of the 18-piece group.

The Blue Wisp Band, Big Band Jazz
A legendary, regional ensemble from Cincinnati, Ohio, the Blue Wisp Big Band has, for the last twenty-five years, performed every Wednesday evening at the famed Blue Wisp Jazz Club in Downtown Cincinnati. Having been around for a quarter of a century this big band knows how to play and does so with the same fire that has led them to record five acclaimed albums over the years. The musicians are seasoned pros with twelve of the sixteen players being original members.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the Newport, KY Jazz Festival, visit www.newportonthelevee.com.

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