In addition to Franklin's performance, Melody Gardot, a newly signed Verve artist, has been added to the Saturday line-up. Though the individual performances make this year's event one of the most highly anticipated jazz festivals in years, it's the incredible on-stage collaborations that will make it truly memorable. Some planned collaborations include three jazz greats – Charlie Haden, Bill Frisell and Ethan Iverson – who are joining forces for the first time on Saturday, August 9. Also on Saturday, there will be a special encore of the all-star quartet Dave Holland, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter and Eric Harland, who made their legendary debut last year at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

"We are very excited to have a musical legend like Aretha Franklin headlining the [Newport Jazz Festival], one of our most important events," said Tom Shepard, CEO of Festival Network. "Her poise and passionately powerful voice exemplifies the level of quality we strive to achieve at all of our festivals."

The 2008 [Newport Jazz Festival] continues a legacy begun in 1954, when George Wein launched the modern music festival era with the first Newport Jazz Festival. Over the decades the event has become an integral thread in the fabric of jazz music, the name itself synonymous
with some of the greatest performances in the genre's long history. With memories of past festival performances by the likes of Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman, each year promises a chance to witness history on the stage.