Newport's Old Quarter

ALAS...we're in the midst of an important Area/Neighborhood....

......we're in the 'Old Quarter' no less.....Great concept.....Great significance.....

...........the historical in Newport, can never be stressed enough !

We are no longer..........

.....just on the edge!!!!!!!!!!!

As in...the edge of the Yachting Village..

As in...the edge of Historic Hill....or the waterfront..

Many Reasons To Visit

Perhaps the most attractive characteristic of Newport is the ability that the destination has to appeal to a variety of traveling styles.
Newport is home to miles of scenic coastline ideal for exhilarating sailing excursions, relaxing beach time, and rejuvenating walks.
For those whose heart lies in architecture, design, and history Newport offers tours of opulent mansions, interesting museums, and a number of walking tours that reveal the history and charm of the city.
For a mouth-watering getaway, visitors can enjoy a tour and tasting at the three local vineyards followed by a memorable dining experience at a waterfront restaurant.
For visitors looking to take a bit of Newport style home with them, the city’s quaint wharves and cobblestone streets are a mix of unique shops and galleries.
Complementing it all is a year-round calendar of special events ranging from nautical events to music festivals to professional sports tournaments, ensuring that there is always something happening in Newport!

www.gonewport.com

U. S. Naval Academy

Here in Newport, 1861 to 1865............moved here for obvious reasons .....Another proud time for this great city

What a Concert it Was

When the solo ended and Gonsalves collapsed in exhaustion, Ellington himself took over for two choruses of piano solo before the full band returned for the "Crescendo in Blue" portion, finishing with a rousing finale featuring high-note trumpeter Cat Anderson.
After that performance, pandemonium took over. Duke calmed the crowd by announcing, "If you've heard of the saxophone, then you've heard of Johnny Hodges." Duke's best known alto saxophonist then played two of his most famous numbers in "I Got it Bad, and That Ain't Good" followed by "Jeep's Blues." Still the crowd refused to disperse so Duke called for Ray Nance to sing "Tulip or Turnip." The festival's organizers tried to cut off the show at this point but once again were met with angry refusals to end this magical evening.
Duke told the announcer that he would end the show and wanted to thank the audience but instead announced he had a "very heavy request for Sam Woodyard in "Skin Deep," the number written by former Ellington drummer Louis Bellson. This drum solo feature was the final number featured, followed by a farewell from Duke over "Mood Indigo". In his farewell, he thanked the crowd for the "wonderful way in which you've inspired us this evening." He then finished with his trademark statement, "You are very beautiful, very lovely and we do love you madly."
With that, the historic show concluded.

The Duke Revived, 1956

The Duke and his band had slipped in popularity with the rise of bebop, the jazz style which was developed by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk, among others. Many big bands had folded completely by the mid-1950s, but Duke had kept his band working, occasionally doing shows in ice-skating rinks to stay busy. The Duke Ellington Orchestra had done some European tours during the early 1950s, and Duke was chiefly supporting the band himself through royalties earned on his popular compositions of the 1920s to 1940s.
Duke and his orchestra arrived to play at the Newport Jazz Festival at a time when jazz festivals were a fairly new innovation. The crowds in those days were quite sedate compared to the typical concert-going crowd of today. The first few numbers, including "Black and Tan Fantasy" and "Tea for Two" were played without a few of the band's members as they were unable to be found at the start of the show.
After some performances by other players at the festival, the remainder of the band was located and the real performance began. Duke led off with "Take the 'A' Train", followed by a new composition of Duke and Billy Strayhorn's which was a three-part suite. The first movement was entitled "Festival Junction". The second was called "Blues to Be There" and the final movement was named "Newport Up". This suite was intended to be the showstopper, but the reception was not as enthusiastic as was hoped.
Following the Newport Suite, Duke called for Harry Carney's baritone saxophone performance of "Sophisticated Lady". Then the orchestra played "Day In, Day Out". Following this, Duke announced that they were pulling out "some of our 1938 vintage"---a pair of blues, "Diminuendo in Blue" and "Crescendo in Blue," joined by an improvised interval, which Duke announced would be played by tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves.
Ellington had been experimenting with the reworking for several years before the Newport performance; a release of one of his Carnegie Hall concerts of the 1940s presented the two old blues joined by a wordless vocal passage, "Transbluecency," but in time he chose to join the pair by a saxophone solo, handing it to Gonsalves, experimenting with it in shorter performances before the Newport show, where Ellington is believed to have told Gonsalves to blow as long as he felt like blowing when the solo slot came. It came after two choruses of an Ellington piano break at what was formerly the conclusion of "Diminuendo in Blue."
As performed at Newport, the experiment ended up revamping the Ellington reputation and fortune for the rest of Ellington's life.