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Concert Vault, Newport Jazz

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Wolfgang’s Vault & Newport Jazz

Wolfgang’s Vault presents these incredible selections from Newport Jazz 1959. We have painstakingly restored 27 wonderful shows from that year's festival for your listening enjoyment; stream them for free or download these historic jazz recordings to enjoy on CD or your iPod.

Below are snapshots of three of these performances. Click here to see them all.

Featured Artists

Count Basie & His Orchestra 07.02.1959 One of the most important figures to come out of the Swing Era, Count Basie presided with regal authority for 50 years over a dynamic big band that defined the art of group swing. This 1950s edition of the Count Basie Orchestra, sometimes known as the “new testament” band, was running smoothly on all cylinders in this dynamic show. The uncanny tightness in the horn section provides maximum punch, and vocal performances by Joe Williams and Lambert, Hendricks and Ross complement the band beautifully. This was easily one of the most invigorating and memorable sets of the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival.
Dakota Staton 07.03.1959 A wonderful interpreter of ballads as well as an inveterate swinger, Miss Dakota Staton is one of those singers from the 50s who seems to have fallen through the cracks of time. And while she may not be as widely regarded today as jazz vocal legends like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, the sheer expressive power of her voice is undeniable and her dramatic delivery as compelling as her tough, sassy stage presence. Staton’s scintillating performance at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival was one of the highlights of that Saturday evening.
The Jazz Messengers 07.04.1959 A dynamic presence and charismatic personality who led his hard-swinging ensembles from the drum set, Art Blakey was a widely respected figure in jazz for nearly 50 years. A super talent scout as a well as an exciting player on the bandstand, he recruited scores of emerging talents into the ranks of The Jazz Messengers over the years. The lineup that Blakey brought to the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival on July 4th included the stellar young trumpet sensation Lee Morgan (just six days shy of his 21st birthday at the time of this gig), bassist Jymie Merritt, pianist Bobby Timmons and tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley.