(editor’s note – no ex post facto proof for Fats Domino or Dom Salvadore. Jimmy Witherspoon may have replaced Fats Domino on the bill, but not confirmed.)

Newport Jazz brings variety of superb music

by Kyle Hughes, Bennington Banner, July 3, 1979

Music, rainclouds and home cooking highlighted the 1979 Newport-Saratoga Jazz Festival, held this past weekend at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Large crowds turned out each day of the two-day event to listen to the music, browse among craftsmen’s booths, and sample different dishes that were on sale at food tents.

The music, of course, was what brought everybody together. Conspicuous in their absence this year were any big bands in the mold of Count Basie or Buddy Rich, whose performances were highlights of Newport-Saratoga 1978.

But there was still an excess of good music.

Grover Washington Jr., Betty Carter, Muddy Waters, a bop group led by Art Blakey, Jimmy Witherspoon, Willie Bobo and his band, Latin bandleader Machito, Dave Brubeck and B.B. King all turned in good performances.

Also noteworthy was the all-star jam session that ended the festival Sunday night. George Benson and a variety of other jazz and pop performers put in an appearance.

Virtually all of the performances were listenable and many shined. A particular highlight was the intense set turned in by Grover Washington Jr. and his group.

Washington specializes in a “crossover” blend of jazz and pop, with a heavy musical debt to performers like James Brown and Sly Stone.

Sometimes this fusion of musical styles can fail and not satisfy the requirements of either pop or jazz, but Washington’s combo is original. It also does not suffer from the rhythmic bombast that harms some crossover music.

This year’s edition of the jazz festival ran much more smoothly than it did last year. There were shorter waits between sets and the presentations, and sound seemed more in control.

One wishes that George Wein and the Newport staff would be more adventurous in their booking, however. Performers from the music’s avant-garde would add immeasurably to next year’s festival.

The Berkshire Eagle, June 28, 1979

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