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Latin Beat Magazine, August, 1998

Celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, the Playboy Jazz Festival took on a very special meaning, honoring all of its 20-year participants in its program-magazine. The very first Playboy jazz Festival was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago Stadium in 1959. The following festival didn't happen until 1979, when it was relocated to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, making it home for the past twenty years. Held on the weekend of June 13 and 14, this year's festival featured top luminaries (as always) displaying their talents amid the many shapes and forms of this wonderful music which is jazz.

As usual, the event hosted a sold out audience of jazz devotees who let their hair down and partied, partied, partied to the sounds of jazz. On Saturday, sitting front stage center was the creator of Playboy magazine and the founding father of this festival, Mr. Hugh Hefner. Master of ceremonies once again was Mr. Bill Cosby, whose brief introductions of the artists have become an integral part of the festival, as well as his cameo performances with some of the bands from time to time. Cigar in hand, he enjoyed every second of this weekend.

Crowd favorites this year were Poncho Sánchez, Arturo Sandoval, Los Van Van, Sheila E., Al Jarreau, Fourplay, Wynton Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, and King Sunny Ade, among others. The most impressive band in my opinion was Howard Johnson & Gravity, a tuba choir with a mission. Howard and friends smoked for about thirty minutes of jazz on the mammoth brass instruments.

Saturday's concert opened with the L.A. County High School For The Arts Jazz Band under the direction of Bobby Rodríguez. Poncho Sánchez Latin Jazz Band ignited the day with their hard-driving Latin Jazz sound. Al Jarreau closed the evening crooning many of his hits to the joy of the crowd.

Opening the festival Sunday was Silvano Monasterios. This young pianist was this year's Cognac Hennessy Jazz Search winner. Pete Fountain and his New Orleans Jazz Band were the first to get the audience on their feet and into the aisles on Sunday's concert, dancing to the beat of Dixieland jazz. Los Van Van also instigated an enormous conga line during their performance. The Cuban band, on this second visit to the Playboy Jazz Festival, repeated a powerful performance full of tasty Latin rhythms. The legendary group Little Feat closed the years festivities.

Backstage, Playboy festival director Señor Bill Farley and festival PR firm leader Nina Gordon, banded with their crews to handle the needs of the enormous amount of multimedia reps which attended both days of the festival. Backstage highlights included the beautiful bandleader/percussionist Sheila E., with press groups of as many as four and five at a time, gathered around for a few minutes of her time. In my own brief interlude with the Latin beauty, she expressed her new revival as a person and an artist of the world. Her continuous commitments to charities and fund-raisers for the less fortunate are but a few of the many positive qualities she quietly possesses. Also on hand was trumpeter Charlie Sepúlveda, who performed with Sheila's E Train Band. Based in Puerto Rico, Charlie told us about his upcoming record production and his hectic schedule playing with his band and everyone else's. Next was King Sunny Ade, who walked into the press room in full majestic attire that included a talking drum under his arm. The African superstar bandleader was charming and down to earth as we spoke about his music and career. His blend of African rhythms, electric guitars, and all that jazz, equate to a hypnotic musical form, unlike any other I have ever heard. I asked His Majesty if he indulged in Latin music and he responded, "I've listened to pachanga since a little child in my village in Africa," and then he started naming groups and artists like Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Aragon, and El Gran Combo. The King knows his stuff.

Once again the Playboy Jazz Festival succeeded in delivering a memorable weekend of jazz to the city of angels.

Gracias to all at Playboy Inc. and Nina Gordon and crew for another excellent festival