New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ CMPR / New Festival Productions) - Jazz reared her beautiful head June 17 - 26 and more than 23,000 people turned out to greet her when the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York presented 45 concerts at 20 venues throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
"I can't thank the jazz community enough for the overwhelming support of this year's festival," said George Wein, CEO of New Festival Productions. "It was a risk to take the festival in a different direction, especially after not presenting a series last June. But, it paid off in a big way as music fans, new and old, filled concert halls, clubs, parks, galleries and museums to hear multiple styles of jazz in diverse settings."
Attendance figures include more than 7,000 people who heard concerts featuring Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette, Chris Botti and Herbie Hancock at Carnegie Hall; more than 5,000 attendees who took over Central Park SummerStage for McCoy Tyner with Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding and Francisco Mela plus the Stanley Clarke Band with Hiromi; and nearly 4,800 fans that turned out for Bitches Brew Revisited and the Mike Stern Trio at Celebrate Brooklyn! at Prospect Park Bandshell. Rounding out the total are the full capacity audiences of young people who celebrated jazz at the clubs and the concert-goers at other venues across the city.
"We were pleased to support the return of the New York summer jazz festival as part of the launch of our company's brand," said Dave Schlotterbeck, chairman and CEO of CareFusion. "The festival also provided us the opportunity to help raise awareness and funding for patient safety."
Festival partners also felt the impact of being a part of the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York.
"It was a real honor to collaborate with George Wein on the CareFusion Jazz Festival. Our three nights at Barbe`s were a great success. Not only were they widely publicized and very well attended, but with the help of the festival we were able to reach out to audiences that might not have otherwise come to Barbe`s. By incorporating smaller venues and large concert halls in one festival, people really felt that they were part of a wider celebration of music. It should happen more often," said Olivier Conan, co-owner of the Brooklyn club.
Rio Sakairi, talent booker for the Jazz Gallery, stated, "One of the most exciting things for us about being part of the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York was to be able to bring more attention to artists who we feel could really benefit from the kind of exposure and credibility only the caliber of this event could provide. The festival brought wider recognition of The Jazz Gallery, our artists, and our mission. It also presented opportunities to collaborate with other venues and institutions such as WBGO and the Symphony Space. Working with New Festival Productions and Mr. Wein was a blast and we had an amazing time being part of the Festival."
Laura Kaminsky, Artistic Director at Symphony Space, added, "Our participation in the CareFusion Jazz Festival was a perfect fit for us as an institution and we were honored and proud to be associated with the festival. The range of styles offered on our five concerts could not have been more diverse ... Audiences were happy every night; Symphony Space was alive with great jazz. Long live CareFusion!"
For more of the best of established and rising stars, head to scenic Newport, RI, August 6 - 8 for the CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival featuring three days of music on multiple stages. Artists include Herbie Hancock; Chick Corea and The Freedom Band with Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride & Roy Haynes; Ahmad Jamal; Wynton Marsalis; Maria Schneider Orchestra; Jamie Cullum; Chris Botti; Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Jason Moran's Bandwagon, and many more. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.newportjazzfest.net.
*Newport Jazz Festival is a registered service mark of George Wein and Festival Productions, Inc.
