The 2024 Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival (formerly known as the Playboy Jazz Festival) didn’t only happen to land on Father’s Day Weekend—the event turned out to be a full-on homage to fatherhood and the salience of legacy in the music world.
From the mid-afternoon until deep into the evening, the famous shell in the Hollywood Hills played host to a slew of luminaries from the spheres of not only jazz, but also funk, soul, hip-hop and beyond.
Comedian and entertainer Arsenio Hall hosted the star-studded festivities. He also did his part to promote Father’s Day—from shouting out famous dads in the audience like Ken Jeong and Don Cheadle, to highlighting the attendance of Willow Smith (whose own father, Will Smith, is rather famous), to coaxing his own son on stage multiple times. But it was the musicians themselves who made the family connections that much more special.
The Soul Rebels called upon a legendary musical scion, Seun Kuti, to serve as a special guest during their set. After blasting through some uncovers—including Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”, Thundercat’s “Them Changes”, and Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved?”, the New Orleans-based brass band welcomed the son of famed Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti to assist with his vocals and saxophone.
Robert Glasper took fatherhood to the next level during his stint onstage. The five-time Grammy winner stepped out to an introduction that included mention of his production partnership with his 16-year-old son Riley. After rolling out a rendition of Radiohead’s “Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box”, Glasper brought out his daughter, Lola, to sit on his knee while he covered August Greene’s “Black Kennedy” with just one hand on the keys.
That bit of family time came as a prelude to sharing time with YEBBA. The 29-year-old Arkansan belted out her songs “Boomerang” and “Distance”, as well as a cover of Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be” and her featured track with Robert, “Over”, from his latest album, 2022’s Black Radio III.
Kamasi Washington followed up Robert Glasper’s set by touching on fatherhood from his own angles. For one, the headliner and co-curator (along with Herbie Hancock) of the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival was joined onstage, per usual, by his father, Rickey Washington, on saxophone and flute.
Kamasi extended the familial vibe to the next generation with the second song of his set, “Asha The First”. He sat down at a keyboard to share the story of his daughter, Asha, learning to play and figuring out a melody that became “Asha The First”. Better still, he brought out Thundercat and Coast Contra to reprise their roles on the track.
Fatherhood once again crept to the fore during a cover of Roger Troutman’s “Computer Love”, when Miles Mosley busted out a brilliant solo on standup bass, using both his fingers and a bow on an instrument with a patch reading, “In Honor of Jerry Mosley.”
To be sure, there was much more to Sunday’s show at the Hollywood Bowl than just Dad’s Day-related fun. Kamasi went even deeper on his latest album, 2024’s Fearless Movement, with “Lesanu”, “Together”, “Interstellar”, “Prologue”, and a feature from D Smoke on “Get Lit”.
Cory Henry brought the noise and the funk during his set alongside The Funk Apostles. The former Snarky Puppy pianist and organist powered through favorites like “Happy Days”, “Rise”, and “Something New”. At times, he turned the Bowl into a Sunday service with “Holy Ghost”, along with mentions of his 2024 drop, Church.
All of that came after warmup performances from the LAUSD Beyond the Bell All-City Jazz Big Band and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA, along with stellar sets by Aneesa Strings, Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band, and Baby Rose.
Altogether, this year’s Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival proved to be the perfect way to celebrate dads, grads, and anyone else who looks fondly toward the calendar in mid-June. And though Playboy hasn’t been the named sponsor of the event since COVID, the festival itself clearly has enough of its own legs to stand on now and well into the future.
The post Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Arsenio Hall Lean Into Father’s Day Vibes At Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival [Recap/Photos] appeared first on L4LM.
