The P Speaks: Winds And Bikini Disrupt Musician; Newport Flutist Turns Back On Audience And Breeze

[Jayne Mansfield, circa 1964]

WINDS AND BIKINI DISRUPT MUSICIAN; Newport Flutist Turns Back on Audience and Breeze

By JOHN S. WILSON

Special to The New York Times

July 4, 1964, Saturday

Page 9, 633 words

NEWPORT, R.I., July 3 — The wind and Jayne Mansfield played unanticipated roles this afternoon in the Newport Jazz Festival’s annual program devoted to new, or relatively new talent.

Miss Mansfield arrived at Freebody Park on the second day of the four-day festival while the program was in progress. She was wearing a blue bikini and a short open jacket and she carried a beige Chihuahua whose toenails were painted red. While Miss Mansfield listened to the music, ate a piece of pizza  and nestled the dog in her lap, photographers clustered around.

During most of this time, Rod Levitt’s octet was on the stage attempting to retain some share of the audience’s interest with Mr. Levitt’s avant-garde jazz composition. The musicians did reasonably well until Miss Mansfield got up to go to one side of the part to have some pictures taken with several bearded jazz fans. The parade of photographers and photo enthusiasts who followed in her wake succeeded in burying one of Mr. Levitt’s pieces. 

Mr. Levitt was also the victim of the unplanned intrusion of the slight breeze that was blowing through the park. His group makde two false starts on a piece called “Vera Cruz” until George Marge, a flutist, who played the opening passeages, pointed out that the wind was blowing into Mr. Levitt’s flute, creating notes that were not on the score.

To outwit the wind, Mr. Marge turned his back on the wind and on the audience and played his solo from a stooping crouch as he sheiled his flute from the elements.

Mr. Levitt’s group used clothespins to keep its music from being blown by the wind, often without success. Clothespins are the customary device for this purpose. George Russell, leader of another avant-garde group, arrived on stage with an avant-garde solution – or at least a different one. He carried a bag of rocks.

Aside from the wind and Miss Mansfield and Mr. Russell’s rocks, the most impressive performance….

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We are sharing this bit of history because as you read this, we are off to the land of blue bikinis, breezes and clothespins. (And cocktails and badminton and jazz…)

Tags: clothespins, Janye Mansfield, Jazz, John S. Wilson, Newport