A centennial salute to Coltrane and Davis caps a full day at the Newport Jazz Festival

Arts admin August 2, 2026 0 Comments

A centennial salute to Coltrane and Davis caps a full day at the Newport Jazz Festival

NEWPORT, R.I. – For jazz festival programmers, the 2026 calendar contains a gift: It’s the centennial of two of the music’s immortals, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Saturday at this year’s Newport Jazz Festival culminated with a cosmic tribute to both musicians, ledby two of today’s jazz mavericks, saxophonist Kamasi Washington and trumpeter Chief Adjuah.

The set capped off one of the purest days of jazz at Fort Adams State Park in recent memory, especially at the Fort stage, which started with a crisp jam session by a quintet of Southern New England players, including saxophonist Noah Campbell and drummer Evan Wood. The only artist on the festival’s largest stage who could have been pegged as a crossover act was Gary Clark Jr., and his blues and boogie tunes weren’t all that removed from what Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker played at the earliest Newport Jazz Festivals.

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Washington and Adjuah, backed by Washington’s band, offered a series of mashups of some of Coltrane and Davis’s signature pieces, including Davis’s “Milestones” and “All Blues,” and Coltrane’s “Impressions” and “A Love Supreme.” A pair of Sonny Rollins compositions, “Tenor Madness” and “Oleo,” were in honor of the “saxophone colossus” who died in May. There was also a composition by Ryan Porter, a trombonist and longtime Washington collaborator who recently died.

Several of Davis’s bandmates played, but none of them took a nostalgic route. Bassist Dave Holland (who played with Davis at Newport in 1969) and guitarist John Scofield played a duo set that was a beautiful and often bluesy celebration of tone. After a heartfelt introduction from the festival’s new artistic director and fellow drummer, Nate Smith, Newport veteran Billy Hart walked out to a standing ovation. Hart and his quartet, which included his New England Conservatory colleague Ethan Iverson and Berklee woodwinds chair Walter Smith II, gave a master class in how to approach swing from many different angles.

Hart played on Davis’s classic “On the Corner,” and that record’s fusion sound still resonates with many of the bands that have become Newport favorites. The sprawling collective Snarky Puppy, playing to a massive crowd at the Quad Stage, had everything from African rhythms to metal riffs in their mix. A liquid blend of beats from Virginia quintetButcher Brown went down easy on the Fort Stage. The purest cut of funk came courtesy of guitarist Cory Wong; special guest tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman fit in nicely during Wong’sset, which even gave “Mr. Sandman” a heavy groove.

Nate Smith’s own set found him continuing his predecessor Christian McBride’s tradition of convening an all-star one-off band for Newport. Saxophonist Josh Johnson ofLos Angeles band SML(who played Friday), bassist Michael League of Snarky Puppy, and pianist James Francies showed the different hues that electro-jazz can offer.

Another surprise set was billed as “Jonathan Batiste Trios.” It opened with the pianist flanked by two percussionists, and like everythingJonBatiste does, it basked in the joy of sharing an expansive musical perspective. For the second of his two trios, Batiste was joined by two Red Hot Chili Peppers, bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith. (Flea plays his own set Sunday.)

Not everyone opted for jazz-funk flash. Atomic Habitz– a supergroup of blues-rock guitarist and soulful singer Marcus King, the usually flamboyant bassist MonoNeon, and A-list session drummer Chris Dave – had a late-night lounge vibe. The most memorable of the singer-songwriters who performed was Mei Semones, whose daring art-rock band included a string section.

Two of the most rewarding sets of the day came from musicians who make their homes in Boston. Bassist Linda May Han Oh has often been a sidewoman at Newport. For her debut as a leader she brought a chordless trio featuring two peers who, like Oh, consistently push the boundaries of creative music: trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and drummer (and Pulitzer Prize recipient) Tyshawn Sorey. They made the kind of commanding sound experiment that should be heard more often at Newport.

Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, the founder of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, showed why she’s the social conscience of jazz. Her band Social Science – stacked with Boston talents like vocalists Debo Ray, guitarist Matthew Stevens, and keyboardists Ian Michael and Santiago Bosch – showcased her just-released album “Trip the Night Fantastic.” The collection of message songs was a kaleidoscope of R&B, jazz, hip-hop, Afro-Caribbean music, and spoken word. “Autonomy Song” paraphrased Lesley Gore with the lyrics “It’s my body and I’ll do what I want with it.”

It was a reminder that, six decades after Coltrane wrote “Alabama,” jazz can still be a vehicle for change.