George Lopez & Hugh Hefner
*Hollywood – The Playboy Jazz Festival, 35th edition, returned to the iconic, historic landmark Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, June 15th and Sunday, June 16th.
The Playboy Jazz Festival presented in cooperat...
George Lopez & Hugh Hefner
*Hollywood – The Playboy Jazz Festival, 35th edition, returned to the iconic, historic landmark Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, June 15th and Sunday, June 16th.
The Playboy Jazz Festival presented in cooperation with the L.A. Philharmonic Association is an annual event in which thousands of music aficionados travel from near and far to attend the festival. The Hollywood Bowl continues to contribute magnificently to the cultural heritage of the City of Los Angeles.
The program got under way by ushering in a new era with multi-talented entertainer George Lopez taking over as Master of Ceremonies. The Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Jazz Ensemble directed by Jsaon Goldman is a remarkable and talented group of young jazz musicians. Early arrivals to the festival were entertained brieftly on the tunes “Low Down” by Thad Jones, “Bags Groove,” by Milt Jackson, with arrangements by John Clayton, and concluded their set with “Cottontail” by Duke Ellington.
Pedrito Martinez Group featuring Ariacne Trujillo servd up a tasty, fiery set of Afro-Cuban jazz and Rumba. Their sounds had enough fuel to start the first conga line of the weekend. The crowd and I enjoyed their take on “I’ll be There” by Michael Jackson with snippets of “Tell Me Something Good” with Ariacne Trujillo on vocals.
Grace Kelly Quintet came onstage swinging hard on material from previous CDs to satisfy the jazz purist in the crowd. She peformed “Filosophical Flying Fish,” and “Night Time to Star” about her ex-boyfriend. The crowd marveled at her youth, as well as her enormous talents as a saxophonist and vocalist. The group took it up a notch, inviting special guest, alto-saxophone giant Phil Woods onstage. They romped thru material from the CD Man With The Hat featuring the tunes “Gone,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” the title track “Man with the Hat” and “People Time. The stellar group of musicians on this gig consisted of Jason Palmer-trumpet, Evan Gregor-bass, Josh Nelson-piano, and Bill Goodwin on drums.
Gregory Porter
There was a ton of buzz generated about vocalist Gregory Porter prior to making his debut at the festival. He lived up to the hype and upped the Wow Factor. The crowd set-up and took notice as he wowed them with his upbeat vocals from his heart and spirit. He had the crowds rapt attention on the tunes “Painted on Canvas,” “On My Way to Harlem,” “Be Good,” and an amazing version of “Work Song” with an a capella intro and ending. He followed with “No Love Dying” and “Real Good Hands”-which is going to be a classic Valentines Day tune, and help to put fellows minds at ease when they meet the parents of their future spouses.
Robert Glasper Experiment treated and delighted the crowd on a journey thru the inner workings of his latest CD Black Radio. His latest project is a synthesis of sounds with jazz, hip-hop, R&B and Rock. The crowd and I were in for a treat as vocalist Dianne Reeves joined the group to add lyrics to “Afro-Blue” and other tunes.
Vocalist Angelique Kidjo made a return engagement to the festival for another outstanding, high powered set with special guest trumpeter Hugh Masakela. She shared her youthful energy with members of the crowd onstage.
The momentum continued to flow during the sets by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band with special guest Lee Ritenour on guitar. Naturally 7 returned for a triumphant, record breaking third time for another jaw dropping set. They blew the crowds mind and knocked their socks off with another brilliant set of vocal play. People are still talking about their set with special guest Herbie Hancock on the tunes “Watermelon Man,” “Chameleon,” and “Rock It.”
Rounding out day one of the festival were Ole Coltrane featurin