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Photos by Mary P. Hynes

Never having attended a Newport Jazz Festival, the lineup and allure in its 65^th year brought considerable excitement and anticipation.

While queuing up for “the granddaddy of all festivals,” I commented on one fan’s efficient rolling festival gadget to which he replied, “It’s been to many festivals.” My counter – “Which is the best one?” to which he responded succinctly, “This one.” His assessment proved more than right. Witnessing arguably the best musicians in the world on four stages over three days was, in retrospect, surreal and dreamlike. Understand that it’s impossible to catch the 20 acts each day. If you can see eight to ten, like this writer, you’re doing well and even then, you may see only two or three entire sets. Nonetheless, it’s those special magical moments that live on in memory. The four stages hold a stunning variety from the known old guard to those making their debuts.

This festival boasts an incredibly diverse audience from young to elderly, with attendees from all over the world. It’s a family atmosphere as parents danced with their children and, when not listening at stage, could be found lounging by the bay or seeking shade along the cooling stone walls of Fort Adams.

Opening on the Quad stage was the newly formed eclectic funk group Mwenso & The Shakes, setting the tone with rousing energy as Mwenso danced and gyrated around the stage dressed in a black cat suit while the other members were dressed in red. The seven-piece unit was either tap dancing to the dueling saxes or scatting emphatically as the crowd started to move to the contagious syncopated rhythms. It was only 11 AM. Mwenso, who hails from Sierra Leone, grew up in London, and now resides in NYC, led a Harlem-based collective from several different nations. In keeping with the festival theme, he indicated that through love, you create community, and that’s what their music aims to do

The main stage opened with the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra, led by 95-year-old multi-instrumentalist (as are many in the band) Marshall Allen, who has led the 13-piece band since 1993, carrying on Ra’s legacy. In deference to the originator, the band now does not play with keyboards, but a guitar instead; still, the interstellar costumes, mix of African and space-age regalia, is very much in play. Introduced by Festival Artistic Director, the animated Christian McBride, as “One of the most important band in the history of this music,” Sun Ra put on an aural and visual show where one of the baritone sax players did cartwheels, several band members walked into the audience playing during their signature “Space Is the Place,” while Allen proved he was very much the band leader, whether conducting, playing his screeching alto sax is if it were a guitar, creating space age noises on the electronic valve instrument (EVI), or beating the sun-emblazoned gong. Different members sang and played all kinds of percussion in addition to their main instrument throughout. Their unique visual and avant-garde musical show proved why they are still a major draw almost 70 years from inception.

Kandace Springs had tremendous presence with her smile, giving a graceful vocal and elegant piano performance through her own tunes as well as “In My Solitude” and the two crowd favorites from Roberta Flack, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “The First Time I Did Ever See Your Face,” before closing with a nuanced, emotive reading of “I Put a Spell on You.” Her trio was augmented by the versatile youthful flutist Elena Pinderhughes, who later played with Herbie Hancock’s Band. Grammy winner Corrine Bailey Rae also mixed jazz with R&B, singing her hits (“Put Your Records On,” ”Trouble Sleeping,” and a cover of Bob Marley’s “Is This Love?”) to a responsive crowd at the Fort Stage while three-time Grammy winners The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, led by Oscar Hernandez, had the Quad Stage audience dancing, clapping, and shaking with their effervescent “hard salsa” sound. Tia Fuller and her quartet gave a soulful performance as she played both alto sax and delivered the spoken words at the Harbor Stage.

A clear highlight of Friday afternoon was the special performance from alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, joined by Ravi Coltrane (tenor sax) and Charles Tolliver (trumpet) as they recreated Bartz’s’ album, “Another Earth,” celebrating its 50^th anniversary. Bartz’s tone was exceptional on the alto and, of course, Coltrane and Tolliver delivered creative solos. The band included Paul Bollenback (guitar), James Carter (bass) Nasheet Waits (drums). The acts we missed, according to hearsay, were equally as good – Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Domi and JD Beck, The Bad Plus, and Women of the World, to name just a few.

The Fort Stage hosted the two biggest acts of the day, L.A. native Thundercat seems to be developing his own genre of music, psychedelic jazz, and one big mash-up of rock, hip-hop, and fusion, played LOUD. From his look (pink dreads, red shorts with a mismatched pink-and-white striped top) to his musical style, he’s a cultural beacon that’s pushing the boundaries forward.

To shouts of “Herbie, Herbie” the 70 year-old living legend Herbie Hancock showed that he has one of the best bands in jazz with multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin, guitarist Lionel Lueke, drummer Vinnie Coliauta, and bassist James Genus. Hancock played both acoustic and electric piano, sometimes within the same tune with, as mentioned, Pinderhughes guesting on flute for a few tunes. Just three songs in, he played “Watermelon Man” from his Headhunters album and, later, strapped on the keytar, much to fans’ delight. Hancock’s encore, keytar in hand, was “Chameleon” from, of course, Headhunters.

The traditional Friday Night Concert was held at The International Tennis Hall of Fame, a beautiful outdoor venue, and was billed as “Jon Batiste and Friends.” The gregarious, smiling Batiste, mostly playing a Steinway piano, was joined by dueling pianists Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus), Elew, and fellow pianist/vocalist from New Orleans, PJ Morton on the adjacent Steinway. Corrine Bailey Rae was the last guest to grace the stage for the three-hour show that featured selections from Batiste’s newly released “Anatomy of Angels -Live at the Village Vanguard” where he led a sextet, His solo performance of “St. James Infirmary” and all of the piano performances were highly creative. Morton shined on his vocal for “Blueberry Hill” as did Corrine Bailey Rae on the standard “The Very Thought of You.” It was s sublime, classy ending to a glorious day of music.

—Jim Hynes