George Wein

George Wein (born October 3, 1925) is an American jazz promoter and producer who has been called "the most famous jazz impresario" and "the most important non-player... in jazz history". He is the founder of what is probably the best-known jazz festival in the United States, the Newport Jazz Festival, which is held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1925, Wein was a jazz pianist in his youth and while studying at Boston University led a small group which played professionally around the Boston area. In 1950 he opened a jazz club called Storyville and established a record label by the same name. In 1954 Newport residents Louis and Elaine Lorillard invited him to organize a festival in their hometown...