George Wein

Wein was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on October 3, 1925. His father, Barnet, worked as an ear, nose, and throat doctor; his mother, Ruth, was an amateur piano player. Both of his parents were Jewish. Wein was raised in Newton and began learning the piano when he was eight. ==Career==

After graduation, Wein opened the Storyville jazz club at Boston's Copley Square Hotel. While the club was an initial success, after only six weeks it was forced to close. It would later reopen at the Buckminster Hotel near Fenway Park. Over time, Wein also established the Storyville record label. In 1954, Louis and Elaine Lorillard invited Wein to organize a festival in their hometown of Newport, Rhode Island, with funding to be provided by them; the festival was the first outdoor jazz festival in the United States and the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, and established the Newport Folk Festival. Essence magazine, Verizon, Ben & Jerry's, and Dunkin' Donuts. ==Awards==

Wein received a wide array of honors for his work with jazz concerts. He received the Patron of the Arts Award from the Studio Museum of Harlem in 1995, and was recognized with an Impact Award from the AARP in 2004. He was decorated with France's Légion d'honneur and appointed a Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Commander of the Order of Arts and Literature) by the French government. He has been honored at the White House by two American presidents, Jimmy Carter in 1978 and Bill Clinton in 1993. In 2005, he was named a "Jazz Master" by the National Endowment for the Arts. His autobiography, Myself Among Others: A Life in Music was singled out as 2004's best book about jazz by the Jazz Journalists Association. Wein received honorary degrees from the Berklee College of Music and Rhode Island College of Music, and was a lifetime Honorary Trustee of Carnegie Hall. Wein was a distinguished member of the Board of Directors Advisory committee of the Jazz Foundation of America. He has also performed and presented at the Jazz Foundation's benefit concert "A Great Night in Harlem". He presented the Saint of Jazz award to Harry Elias of JVC America in 2002. ==Personal life==

In 1959, Wein married Joyce Alexander (1928–2005), a gentile of African American descent. The couple established The George and Joyce Wein Collection of African-American Art. ==Discography==

• George Wein (Atlantic, 1955) • Wein, Women and Song (Arbors, 1955) • Jazz at the Modern (1960) • Midnight Concert in Paris (Smash, 1961) • George Wein & the Newport All-Stars (Impulse!, 1962) • George Wein Is Alive and Well in Mexico (1967) • ''George Wein's Newport All-Stars'' (1969) • Tribute to Duke (MPS, 1969) • The Newport Jazz Festival All Stars (Concord, 1984) • European Tour (Concord, 1987) • Swing That Music (Columbia, 1993) ==References==