Ray Charles at Newport

"Roger Lewis has hauled his baritone saxophone to gigs in far-flung places, from England to Japan to New Guinea. He's played so many places he's lost count of precisely where he's been. But he's never forgotten Newport. Lewis, a member of New Orleans' Dirty Dozen Brass Band, returns to Rhode Island's city-by-the-sea again this weekend for the Newport Jazz Festival, an event he calls 'one of the greatest festivals in the world. I remember listening to that Ray Charles album from when he played Newport,' Lewis told The Associated Press by phone from his home in New Orleans, where he had been practicing some numbers he expects to play in Newport. 'We've played all around the world but to have the opportunity to play Newport has been a dream.' ... Several thousand ticketholders are expected each day. Many of the dozens of performers booked for the event have personal connections to its creator, jazz impresario George Wein, who organized the first jazz festival in 1954 at the behest of a local Newport socialite" (David Klepper, "Newport Jazz Festival," Huffington Post, 7/28/13).

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