George Wein’s piano playing was a little raggedy at the beginning of his set Sunday afternoon at the Newport Jazz Festival. But who was going to tell him?

Wein, the man who pretty much invented the concept of the outdoor music festival at Newport in 1954, occupies a curious, not to say precarious, role in the current festival universe. As a recent article in the New York Times explained (or tried to explain; I found the piece poorly written and at times annoyingly unclear), he is no longer the man in charge of the Newport Jazz Festival, or for that matter any of the other events that used to be part of his company, Festival Productions, which he sold last year to a new company, Festival Network. But he still has a role, vague as it may be, and — at least according to the Times — he booked this year’s festival in conjunction with Jason Olaine of Festival Networks.

I suspect that Wein was less involved than Olaine, if only because there were more good young musicians and fewer tribute bands and other nostalgia acts at Newport this year than there have been for a while, with a palpable (and welcome) new-blood vibe in the air. But Wein remained a presence throughout the weekend.

He was praised from the main stage by various Festival Network executives; by Chevy Chase, who served as festival host for the second year in a row (and who was surprisingly relaxed, engaging and even, once in a while, funny); and by, among other performers, Aretha Franklin. And appropriately, he was given an hour on the main stage to showcase the latest version of his band, the Newport All Stars.

Wein was a pianist before he was an entrepreneur. But he has never been a great pianist (which, come to think of it, is probably why he became an entrepreneur), and not surprisingly he was the weak link in his own group. In fact, on the first few numbers of the set (especially the opener, a sloppy “Johnny Come Lately”), he sounded downright lost. Happily, his playing improved as the set progressed — and even more happily, the other members of his group were sensational from the get-go.

Anat Cohen demonstrated, especially on a rousing “Limehouse Blues,” that it’s possible to play jazz clarinet and not sound old-fashioned. Howard Alden’s guitar playing was steady and buoyant when he played rhythm, lithe and melodic when he soloed. The veteran drummer Jimmy Cobb, the only member of the ensemble who has been around almost as long as Wein, drove the ensemble with nicely modulated ferocity. And the young bassist Esperanza Spalding was solid in a supporting role and sparkling on her feature number, “Midnight Sun,” which she both sang and played.

If this disparate crew never quite cohered as an ensemble, they provided many memorable moments. And they clearly provided great pleasure for their leader, who may not know exactly what the future holds for him as a producer but must be gratified to know that his accomplishments are being recognized — and that whatever else happens, he’ll always be able to put a pretty nice band together.