George Wein

Born October 3, 1925, in Lynn, Massachusetts, George Wein was a jazz pianist, producer and promoter. He is best known for being the founder and organizer of the first annual Newport Jazz Festival, which was established in 1954 in Newport, Rhode Island. Along with Pete Seeger and Theodore Bikel, he co-founded the Newport Folk Festival in 1959 and helped found the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1970. His musical career began after leaving the army and then graduating from Boston University’s College of Liberal Arts in 1950. George Wein opened a jazz club and started a label, calling both of them Storyville. In 1954, he was approached by Louis and Elaine Lorillard, who invited him to organize a jazz festival in their hometown of Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Jazz Festival became an extremely successful annual affair that still attracts the biggest names in jazz over 60 years later. George Wein was also a key figure in the founding of other festivals in other U.S. cities including the Playboy Jazz Festival (Los Angeles, California), the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. Even though his musical career is overshadowed by these events, Georg Wein released several albums during his career including Wein, Women and Song (1955), Jazz at the Modern (1960), George Wein & the Newport All-Stars (1962), Tribute to Duke (1969), and Swing That Music (1993). George Wein died on September 13, 2021, at the age of 95.

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