Playboy Jazz Festival has the Bowl jumpin'

 

"Who's got some extra suntan oil, man?" asked singer and unflappably cool customer Kurt Elling from the stage Saturday at the 32nd annual Playboy Jazz Festival. Marking his first appearance at the festival, the sharply dressed Elling had just finished a spry cover of Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out," and the temperatures were climbing.

"You look good in the light of day — most of you," he added with a smirk.

Though the persistent sun may have clashed with the ever-chatty Elling's generally nocturnal aesthetic, it's all part of the package at Playboy, an L.A. tradition that's as much a rite of early summer as the purple haze of jacaranda blossoms.

And while the festival has maintained a large following with a big-tent approach to jazz, the first day of this year's installment also offered a bit of a youth movement. Something of a YouTube sensation for a wild cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro was an early highlight with instrumentals that touched on flamenco and a sort of pop-classical guitar style, providing a breezy backdrop for the coolers and picnic baskets still winding through the Hollywood Bowl grounds.

Also no strangers to viral video world, the a cappella group Naturally 7 later appeared with their signature cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight." Featuring a nice bit of subway-ready theater with each vocalist pantomiming live instruments as they replicated the sound of bass, drums, strings and — most impressively — electric guitar, the group had fans jumping with a mix of hip-hop, soul and funk delivered with a near-gospel fervor.

But this is still a jazz festival, after all, and the early part of the day belonged to the New Orleans-based Trombone Shorty. Often spoken of as a near-mythic figure in his appearances on HBO's "Treme," the bandleader also known as Troy Andrews did not disappoint, even as he showed he could opt for a name change if he really wanted.

Midway through a set of raucous Crescent City jazz and R&B, Andrews switched to trumpet for a searing solo that cut through the middle of the classic "St. James Infirmary," which had hankies twirling excitedly in the air as Andrews stretched a single note over the crowd and seemingly toward infinity.

Others weren't so successful in overcoming the Bowl's festive atmosphere. Electric bass titan Marcus Miller teamed with fiery young trumpeter Christian Scott to revisit the sound of Miles Davis' synthesizer-heavy 1986 album "Tutu," which was co-produced by Miller. Though Scott was an ideal choice to fill Davis' muted trumpet and could have easily performed the festival with his own band on the heels of an impressive new album, this set's midtempo funk workouts and dated keyboard tones often failed to connect, even during a reverent if straightforward cover of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature."

Opening his set with a birthday cake presented by Lakers great (and instant crowd favorite) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chick Corea and his all-acoustic Freedom Band also had trouble translating. Though saxophonist Kenny Garrett and bassist Christian McBride were often game with a few remarkable solos to complement Corea's piano, the crowd was ready for more party-ready fare as night fell.

Which is exactly what the Pete Escovedo Orchestra delivered. Performing at Playboy for the second straight year, the group led by the 74-year-old bandleader and a battery of Latin jazz percussion had conga lines circling the Bowl boxes midway through its set. Longtime host Bill Cosby even got into the act, ambling onstage to trade beats with the hard-hitting Sheila E., who finally froze the comic with a thunderous drum solo that segued into a few lyrics from her hit "Glamorous Life."

"This is a jazz show," the elder Escovedo said playfully. His daughter grinned and started again, adding an extra swing through a few verses as the crowd roared, not caring in the least what the day's music was called. They knew they were in the right place.

-- Chris Barton

Photo: Trombone Shorty. Credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu / For the Times

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Comments

[chandi]

lovin jazz

[Stan]

Saturday's Playboy jazz 2010 lineup had to be one of the best in recent years. The hightlights had to be "Trombone Shorty, Naturally 7 and Pete Escovedo's family band". Of course the other performers fit in perfectly. This is the best "back yard festival party" bar none. The Playboy Jazz crowd is the best. If you haven't experienced it, I highly recommend it.

[kbdben]

My review for those who may be interested. [June 12, 2010]

I have seen a number of different artists and genres of music here, but this so-called Jazz Concert was a real bummer! Most guests are constantly chowing down on their BBQ and Wine, while shaking their groove thang to what they suppose is Jazz, but isn't.

The only real Jazz was the first entry, the Amazing high school Jazz band from El Dorado High. Their performance was astounding and of course missed by most of the late comers to the Bowl. From then on it was Boogalu at the Bowl - with dumbed down repetitious appeal to the lowest common denominator, AKA utilizing attributes of hip-hop and R&B to continue a pop culture knock-off made specifically to sell to a dumbed down mass market audience. What's worse is that the new sound system is poorly managed in such a confusing venue, with the cacophonous bass and repetitious drum patterns deafening beyond belief.

Group after group sounded almost the same in this manner until at last I was relieved to see the Clayton-Hamilton Band vying for it's turn. But alas, their choice of material again was dominated by the "sell to a dumbed down mass market audience" approach. By now I had earplugs trying to ameliorate the mess (both from the HORRIBLY LOUD INSTRUMENTAL SOLOS) as well as all the surrounding i-pod users and people talking and talking, and shaking. It would seem that most were not real music lovers, but people that love to picnic and hang out.

As the evening approached, it was all a hugh boring event. The applause scattered here and there, people throwing miniature cups of jello as well as those necklaces, balloons etc.
Joy, Joy, Joy, No Jazz, No Jazz, No Jazz. Whew....

So we left before getting to hear the Chick Corea group. I'll admit that by now I was convinced that last year's review influenced us: ...Ever go to a jazz show and have a pop concert break out?
Never Again!

[steve]

Hey kbdben--

it's a celebration of music.. and of people from all races and colors partying and having fun peacefully in a beautiful setting! How many place do you see that happening in LA..I wish it was more...

[LADeJay]

Having been born & raised in Southern California for the first 30 years of my life, attending this event is one of my favorite things to do come summer. I do love jazz music...let's make that "good" jazz music and feel as though I know good jazz when I hear it. Seeing as how the legendary jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette is my uncle I would have to say I've been fortunate to have grown up hearing good jazz most of my life. While currently living in the midwest has put a damper on attending the jazz festival at The Hollywood Bowl on a regular basis, I still have fond memories of past experiences. Jack played Yoshi's up in Oakland this past weekend by the way. I'd like to see him listed in the lineup for this event soon.

[MG]

Even though the Saturday line up was not ENTIRELY a traditional & contemporary jazz line up. It is still one of the few events in l.a. where you can get a cheap round trip shuttle ride directly in front of the ticket takers, bring your own food and booze, and take a nap to recharge your batteries for an 8+ hour event.

With the perfomers, a guest is always rolling the dice with what their gonna dish out. So a critique on the music is an after thought that doesnt carry much weight. there are plenty of bars/clubs in the city where one can buy a $10 beer and a $30 cover to get some traditional renditions.