Come June 15th and 16th, the Playboy Jazz Festival will celebrate its 35th anniversary with its annual blow-out at the Hollywood Bowl. As usual, the Festival will feature an impressive lineup of talent, but perhaps the most significant mentionable about this year’s affair is the addition of comedian George Lopez (pictured above with Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock), who will be replacing Bill Cosby as the event’s emcee. Cosby had been the emcee for more than 30 years.
Headliners this year include George Duke (with special guest Jeffrey Osborne), Naturally 7 (with special Herbie Hancock), Bob Jame and David Sanborn, and Sheila E. Also slated to appear are Angelique Kidjo (with Hugh Masekela), Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band (with James Carter), Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band (with Lee Ritenour), Gregory Porter, the Robert Glasper Experiment, Grace Kelly and Phil Woods, the Pedrito Martinez Group, India.Arie, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (returning to the Festival for a world premiere performance celebrating Quincy Jones’ 80th birthday, featuring special guests Patti Austin and Hubert Laws), Taj Mahal, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and the Brubeck Brothers Quartet.
To order tickets or for more information, go to www.playboyjazzfestival.com.
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