Legacy

Remembering George Wein at Newport

Legacy. What does that mean, the value one brings to history after your gone…What happens to the machine of your life after you have left the planet? We know Gutenberg who died in 1468, we know Epstein (although we wish we didn’t), but do you know George Wein and his legacy? Sitting here right now at the Newport Folk Festival and planning George’s 100^th birthday celebration at City Winery in October as a fundraiser for the Foundation he created to keep the Festival going for another 50 years. What an incredible legacy and history. I’m trying to remember the details of the first time his longtime assistant--Deborah--arranged for dinner for George and I back in the 1990’s at some Newport restaurant with his lovely wife Joyce. It’s very vague, as are many memories from that period. We did drink wine, and we did talk about Jazz and I loved hearing stories of Miles, Herbie, Dizzy, and the titans of Swing. He wanted to know more about the young cats and hear stories from the club front lines. It was an honor to have a relationship with him starting as a competitor and ending as an old friend.

But legacy, what a strange word and concept. Our memories of someone or a thing after they are gone. Or a perception or conjured idea if it was something never personally experienced. The imaginations one has standing in front of the Taj Mahal or Buckingham Palace or Mount Rushmore. How many of the 10,000 people a day at this festival knew George or even knew of him or saw some old guy riding in his golf cart in his later years. Is it possible that half of the audience have no idea who he was, maybe 7000 or 8000 of the people here have no clue how this festival was originally put together. Maybe they know the Yea Yea Yea’s who put on a great set yesterday, but George who? And does it matter? Do they know the board, who took the responsibility to carry out George’s intentions for the festival to thrive for generations past his life is part of why they are enjoying the music today? Does that even matter? Most people realize they are in a sacred space for live music, a special place with really really really hard to-get tickets. Maybe they saw the Dylan film recently and know Newport has some amazing history. They might know Led Zepplin, Billy Holiday, Pete Seeger, Odetta and/or Sarah Vaughn graced these stages 40 years ago, or maybe not. But the vibe, the aura, the karma is embedded into the large stones of the Fort. Not everyone can feel it, but if you appreciate music deeply, you do.

Newport Festivals legacy is inextricably connected to George Wein’s legacy. A producer who was one the forefront of civil rights, but while not marching hand in hand with Martin Luther King and Peter, Paul and Mary in Washington, provided a stage for the most important black artists who in other states had to use the rear entrance. He was not overt about it, but provided a safe place, putting on shows with no regard to skin color, just making sure it grooved. His work pushed our culture to change in a positive direction, this legacy is largly unspoken, but embedded into the brand of Newport. Dylan or Tweedy or Jack Antonoff feel this even if it isn’t written or spoken. This helps drive artists to want to be on Newport’s hallowed stages for fee’s much less than they might get from more commercial festivals. This legacy is what makes the Newport Festival brand so valuable. But how does one preserve and foster a legacy.

There was no script or rules provided to the Festival Foundation on how to preserve the history. It was not in his will a menu of do’s and don’ts about how to leverage his history to foster the continuity. As a board member, we know his memories are blessings. But what do we do, those who are living, to preserve and honor and even make public the person who created this incredible Festival. These are my thoughts as I enjoy the beautiful music with thousands of other lucky souls!