Review by Michael Katz Photos by Bonnie Perkinson Hollywood CA. One happy problem with an eight hour music fest that runs uninterrupted through the shifting temperatures of a near-summer’s day at the Hollywood Bowl is a lineup so strong you don’t want to leave your seat. That was the occasion on Saturday, Day 1 of… Read More Live Jazz: The 35th Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, Day #1
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – June 12. (Wed.) Julian Coryell. He’s received an impressive guitar-playing legacy from his father, Larry Coryell. But Julian has thoroughly developed a creative style of his own. Vitello’s. (818) 769-0905. – June 13. (Thurs.) Cindy Lauper. 30th Anniversary: She’s So Unusual Tour. The inimitable Cindy Lauper celebrates the anniversary… Read More Picks of the Week: June 12 – 16
By Devon Wendell It becomes more apparent each year that the annual Playboy Jazz Festival has less to do with pure jazz programming and more to do with people of all ages and races coming together for a good time. This was certainly the case this year during the Festival’s second day show on Sunday,… Read More Live Jazz: The Playboy Jazz Festival (Sunday) at the Hollywood Bowl
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – June 6. (Mon.) Candi Sosa: Bolero Meets Jazz. Cuban born singer Sosa finds surprisingly compatible musical linkages between jazz and the lyrical Latin ballad style. Vitello’s. (818) 769-0905. – June 7. (Tues.) Jennifer Leitham Trio. Bassist/singer Leitham celebrates the release of her DVD, The Real Me Live!, the chronicle… Read More Picks of the Week: June 6 – 12
By Don Heckman It’s no mystery that producing the Playboy Jazz Festival – a two day event for 18,000 listeners (each day) with eight straight hours of music – is a different task from what it was thirty or forty years ago. After all, at that time it was possible to program schedules including the… Read More Here, There & Everywhere: The 33rd Annual Playboy Jazz Festival Artist Line-Up
by Devon Wendell It’s become harder and harder to discern whether what has been designated as a “Jazz Festival” is aimed at die hard jazz aficionados — studying each chord change and nuance — or those music lovers who just want to dance to more commercially infectious R&B grooves and have fun. This was certainly the case at the 32nd… Read More Live Jazz: The Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl (Further Thoughts)
By Don Heckman The 32nd Playboy Jazz Festival wrapped a long weekend of music yesterday with yet another program perfectly illustrating the qualities that make it one of the world’s most engaging celebrations: tradition, youth, stylistic range and global diversity. Bill Cosby, the Festival’s irrepressible master of ceremonies and the leader of his own Cos… Read More Live Jazz: The Playboy Jazz Festival, Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – June 8. (Tues.) Guitar night with John Pisano. Tuesdays are always great nights for jazz when the veteran guitarist Pisano jams with some of his most gifted six string compatriots. This week, he exchanges riffs with busy studio guitarist Mike Anthony, backed by the solid bass support of Chris… Read More Picks of the Week: June 8 – 13
The International Review of Music 