Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Health Care rescues Wein's revived operation

Yes, there is life for George Wein's New Festival Productions operation beyond his commitment to stage both jazz and folk festivals this August 7-9 in Newport, where it all began.

Wein and CEO David Schlotterbeck of CareFusion announced today that the health-care corporation will be the title sponsor for George Wein's Jazz Festival 55 in Newport next month and will also sponsor a festival that Wein will produce in New York City next June.

As Wein explains it: "The magic is still with us. Over the decades, sponsors have always found us....We were going forward in producing the jazz festival in Newport without a sponsor; but when we got the call from CareFusion, this guaranteed that our work of 55 years in Newport would continue. New Yorkers and jazz fans around the world will be pleased to know that CareFusion will make it possible for jazz to once again take over the city in June. We are looking forward to creating an exciting and innovative 2010 CareFusion New York Jazz Festival to add to the important New York cultural scene."

Wein and his team have done a masterful job in resurrecting their operation after the rather apparent financial demise of Festival Network LLC, the upstart firm that bought his original Festival Productions Inc. in January 2009, Over the past year , Festival Network ran itself into the ground with overambition and overspending at the worst possible time.

The new Wein sponsor, picking up at least part of where JVC left off this year, is involved in a worldwide program to associate itself with jazz festivals in Newport, Chicago, Monterey, Manly (Australia), Paris and New York As part of its new Festival Series, CareFusion will broadcast live to hospitals the performances of select festival artists.

San Diego-based CareFusion is a global provider of product and services to improve the productivity and safety of health care. The wholly owned subsidiary of Cardinal Health is expected to become a public company from the planned spinoff of Cardinal Health's clinical and medical products businesses.

The CareFusion Jazz Festival Series also includes:
CareFusion Chicago Jazz Festival, September 4 - 6, 2009
CareFusion Presents Dizzy's Den at the Monterey Jazz Festival, September 18 - 20, 2009
CareFusion Manly Jazz Festival (Australia), October 3 - 5, 2009
CareFusion Paris Jazz Festival, October 16 - 24, 2009
CareFusion New York Jazz Festival, June 2010 (exact dates TBD)

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