
The 65th Newport Jazz Festival has announced a second wave of performers, including Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Romero Lubambo, the Ron Carter Trio, Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Memphis Soulphony, PJ Morton, Ghost-Note, the Billy Hart Quartet, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Aaron Diehl, Hailu Mergia, and Dianne Reeves with Peter Martin.
“Making her festival debut at Fort Adams is one of my favorite people in the whole world, the legendary Dee Dee Bridgewater,” Christian McBride, the festival’s artistic director, said in a press release. “Her latest project, Memphis, is sure to stir your soul. As a bass player, I stand on Ron Carter’s shoulders. In fact, every jazz bassist since Ron Carter stands on his mighty shoulders. It is our honor to welcome him back to Newport. Okay, okay, so it’s a little bass-heavy this year. That’s not really a problem, is it? In addition to Ron, we have Thundercat and MonoNeon with Ghost-Note, and believe me, that’s just the tip of the ‘bass mountain.’”