Linda Ronstadt opens Newport

Last night was jazz night at the Newport Folk Festival.

At least that is how it seemed for the first half of Linda Ronstadt's opening night concert at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Backed by an eight piece jazz band, Ronstadt focused on her Nelson Riddle-arranged jazz standards repertoire, before moving on to pieces by contemporary composers in the second half and finishing with a selection of her hit pop songs from the 1970s.

The concert was interrupted two songs into Ronstadt's set by a power failure that knocked out the sound system. Thirty minutes later, the power was back and the show went on.


[Photo: Linda Rondstadt]

Ronstadt's performance was her first at Newport. She said she remembers getting Sing Out Magazine as she was growing up and reading about the legends of Newport.

However, she said that she realized only two weeks ago that this concert was a part of the historic festival. "If I had known, maybe I would have switched bands," she said, meaning that she might have brought her folk-rock backing unit. "But this is the band I'm on tour with, so this is what you get."

Ronstadt, who has been somewhat outspoken about politics, dropped several zingers during the show. Introducing a Cole Porter number with her tongue in cheek, she dedicated "Get Out of Town" to Attorney Genera Alberto Gonzales.

That number was a standout of the jazz portion of the set, as was her version of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life." Among the contemporary composers, she performed two Jimmy Webb songs and a number, "Feels Like Home," from Randy Newman's Faust song cycle.

Besides her tour of jazz standards and miniset of some of her hit songs, Ronstadt also touched briefly on another phase of her career, singing one her Mexican rancheros and offering one verse of "Blue Bayou" in Spanish.

The set closed with a series of her pop hits from the 70s--"Poor, Poor Pitiful Me," "Blue Bayou," and "Desperado."


[Photo: Madi Diaz opened the concert]

Opening for Ronstadt was Madi Diaz, an appealing young folk-rock singer-songwriter who is a student at Berklee College of Music. Judging by her poised debut before a sold out audience, Diaz is an artist to keep your eye on. I wouldn't be surprised to see her on a lot of festival stages in the years ahead.

I wonder if there will be a folk night next week at the Newport Jazz Festival.