Playboy Jazz Festival June 13

Hugh Hefner talks fest and all that jazz.
The 31st annual Playboy Jazz Festival takes place this month at the renowned Hollywood Bowl. Got tickets? Another stellar lineup of jazz greats and up-and-comers will take the stage June 13th and 14th at the scenic venue, delivering a mix of standards, soft jazz, Latin rhythm, blues, R&B, brass band, and world fusion with Bill Cosby returning as the emcee.

“It’s the music of my youth and it is also America’s true art form,” said fest Founder and Executive Producer Hugh Hefner. “It’s the music I’ve lived by and loved by and it holds us together. It is becoming increasingly diversified and it remains what it’s all about, in terms of America, for me.”

The music and the festival itself are certainly becoming more diversified. This year’s roster includes Wayne Shorter, The Neville Brothers, Kenny G, The Dap Kings, Summer Storm (featuring Norman Brown, and Eric Darius), Patti Austin, the Pete Escovedo Orchestra (featuring Sheila E.), Peter Michael and Juan Escovedo, as well as many, many more. The annual weekend festival kicks off Saturday at 2:30 pm and the show closes Sunday night.

“It is the continuity between the generations,” Hefner, 83, said, backpacking on Quincy Jones’s hope that the festival continues to introduce the jazz genre to new generations. “It’s the glue that holds us all together.”

The Playboy Jazz Festival also hosts a free community concert on Sunday, June 7. The free concert is presented as part of the “Concerts in the Park” Series and will feature Jazz vocalist Diane Schuur, drummer Ed Shaughnessy (Ed Shaughnessy Quintet) and the Susie Hansen Latin Jazz Band.

Hefner continued that the jazz fest and jazz music and the arts in general are important to the nation, now, more than ever.

“I think that art itself and jazz are more important than ever before in times of recession,” he said. “I think lifestyle becomes important. We’re only here for a little while.”

Recession-proof tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Jazz fans can purchase tickets online at www.ticketmaster.com or via phone at (213) 365-3500. For more info on the 31st annual Playboy jazz festival, check out www.playboyjazzfestival.com.

“I grew up during the Great Depression. It is worth noting that the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and the music of Gershwin had special resonance in the 1930s. I think that man’s reach should exceed his grasp. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.”