NEWPORT, R.I. — Aug. 9, 2006 — MSN® Video is joining with the JVC Jazz Festival — Newport R.I., to give jazz lovers the chance to catch this year’s great lineup online starting Sunday, Aug. 13, at http://video.msn.com/newportjazz. Whether fans attended the festival and want immediate access to their favorite performances again or couldn’t make it to Newport’s historic Fort Adams to experience the acts firsthand, MSN will offer them the “best seats in the house” for America’s oldest jazz festival. Scheduled performances will be available on MSN from a diverse array of artists including Arturo Sandoval, Savion Glover, Angelique Kidjo, The Bad Plus, The Robert Glasper Trio, Dr. John & The Lower 911, The McCoy Tyner Septet and The Dave Brubeck Quartet. The exclusive JVC Jazz Festival — Newport, R.I., content will be available starting on Aug. 13, 2006, at http://video.msn.com/newportjazz.
“The JVC Jazz Festival is one of the most renowned events in the jazz community, bringing together some of the best and brightest artists with true fans,” said Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN. “We’re thrilled to bring this incredible lineup of performances to millions of MSN Video viewers.”
From its inception, the Newport Jazz Festival has been known for bringing in performers who represent diversity and excellence in jazz, America’s only original musical genre. The addition of the JVC Jazz Festival — Newport, R.I., lineup is yet another example of MSN Video’s commitment to entertaining viewers through exclusive and unique video footage from the greatest films, concerts and other cultural events worldwide, while also presenting diverse advertising opportunities to brand partners.
“The goal of the JVC Jazz Festival has always been to provide the public with access to the numerous genres of jazz,” said Artistic Director Dan Melnick of Festival Productions Inc. “The availability of this year’s performances on MSN Video extends the festival’s reach and provides a larger platform upon which musicians can display their talents.”
About the JVC Jazz Festival —Newport, RI
The scale and history of the JVC Jazz Festival program is unprecedented. JVC, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality audio and video equipment, has sponsored more than 170 major jazz festivals to live audiences of over 4 million people for 23 years. The JVC Jazz Festivals have cumulatively presented over 49,000 individual musicians! Along with over 20 years of Newport, JVC has implemented JVC Jazz Festivals in multiple cities including New York; Miami; Chicago; Atlanta; Houston; Dallas; Denver; Los Angeles; San Francisco (Concord) ; Toronto; London; Bad Segeberg, Germany; Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam in Holland; Paris and Nice in France; Rome and Torino in Italy; Warsaw; and Berlin.
About Festival Productions Inc.
Founded in 1960 by impresario George Wein, Festival Productions Inc. (FPI) has been producing music events for over 45 years. Wein originated outdoor music festivals 52 years ago, in 1954, with the Newport Jazz Festival, which continues today as JVC Jazz Festival — Newport, R.I.
In addition to the 52nd anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival, 2006 marks several other significant milestones: 47 years of the Newport Folk Festival (now known as the Dunkin’ Donuts Newport Folk Festival), 37 years of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 23 years of JVC Jazz Festivals worldwide, and 12 years of the Essence Music Festival.
This year FPI will present the 39th edition of the Hampton Jazz Festival in Hampton, Va.; the 29th edition of the Freihofer’s Jazz Festival in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; the 28th edition of the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl; the 11th edition of the Bermuda Music Festival; various Verizon music events; and many other projects. For more information, please visit www.festivalproductions.net.
About MSN Video
MSN Video is one of the largest video-only streaming services on the Web, watched by more than 11 million unique users per month. In addition to streaming news, entertainment and sports video clips from more than 45 content partners including “The Today Show,” FOXSports, MSNBC, JibJab and Fox Entertainment Group, MSN Video presents a broad array of live events to online audiences worldwide. More than 50 top advertisers support MSN Video, which is available to consumers at no charge. MSN Video is available on the Web at http://msnvideo.com to consumers in the U.S. MSN Video is also live in Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.K., and in Spanish in the U.S.; the service also is in beta testing in France.
Overall, MSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft® Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.
