JON BATISTE AND STAY HUMAN ADDED TO NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL LINEUP

Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival ® on International Jazz Day, Wednesday, April 30, at the historic Casino Theatre, 9 Freebody Street in Newport, with a concert by Jon Batiste and Stay Human. Presented by Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc.™ and the Salve Regina University Department of Music, Theatre and Dance, the 7:30 pm concert follows two educational workshops for Newport students. 

  

Batiste and Stay Human kick off  International Jazz Day with a morning performance for students from the Pell School and Thompson Middle School. In the afternoon, the band will present a workshop for jazz combos from Rhode Island high schools.  The morning and afternoon sessions are being facilitated in collaboration with Alan Bernstein, Supervisor of the Arts for the Newport Public Schools.

  

The celebration culminates with the evening performance in the newly-renovated Casino Theatre.  All tickets are General Admission and are priced at $25 for adults;  students with ID and ages 18 and under are free.  Proceeds will benefit education programs of Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc.  For information and reservations, call (401) 341-2295.

Deeply rooted in the musical traditions of his native New Orleans, where he grew up playing with his family's well-known band, pianist/harmonaboardist Jon Batiste has developed a uniquely current, uplifting, and playful brand of jazz that integrates his classical Juilliard training with contemporary mainstream sounds. He tours around the world with his band, Stay Human - saxophonist Eddie Barbash, tuba player Ibanda Ruhumbika and percussionist Joe Saylor. Their mission is to bring the joy of jazz to the masses, transforming each space they play by breaking down the barriers between audience and performer, and inviting people to experience the music as they never thought it could be played. Stay Human's first studio album, Social Music, was released in October 2013. Jon is also a noted advocate for music education and serves as Traveling Ambassador for Music Unites and Artistic Director-at-Large for the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He is a regular figure in television and film, including HBO's Treme and Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer. Jon Batiste and Stay Human will return to Newport for a performance at the 60th Anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival at Fort Adams on Friday, August 1.

The Newport Festivals Foundation™ was founded by George Wein in 2010 to build up and continue the legacies of the famed Newport Jazz Festival® and Newport Folk Festival®. Under the auspices of the Foundation, the Newport Jazz Festival® presents performers who respect and honor jazz music traditions, and at the same time reflect the changes in today's musical trends. Through the establishment of partnerships with local high schools and colleges/universities, the Foundation will present programs to educate young people about jazz music as presented at the annual festival. The Newport Jazz Festival® takes place August 1 - 3 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino and Fort Adams State Park. The Foundation also will present a Family Concert at Fort Adams on July 30. For more information, please visit www.newportfestivalsfoundation.org.