I don’t know about you, but I like to listen to music or watch videos of artists I’m about to see before attending their concert. So here is my video sampler for some of the artists performing at this year’s Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival. This year’s festival takes place on Saturday, June 15th and Sunday, June 16th.
As it was last year, Herbie Hancock and Kamasi Washington serve as the curators for the festival. Each show offers traditional jazz combined with artists who blur the lines of how one defines jazz.
One quick reminder if you are planning to attend, one of the parking lots adjacent to the Hollywood Bowl has been converted to exclusively ride-share drop-offs and pick-ups. So parking is a bit more challenging than you might be accustomed to. This might be a good time to explore public transportation to get to and from The Bowl.
Here’s my sampler for Saturday’s line-up:
Mulatu Astatke – “Azmari” from his 2013 album Sketches of Ethiopia
Cimafunk – Playa Noche
Andra Day – Probably
Charles Lloyd – The Ghost of Lady Day
Christian McBride – from the Torino Jazz Festival earlier this year
Here is my pre-game playlist for Sunday:
Baby Rose – KCRW Live from HQ
The Brian Blade Fellowship – Live from San Antonio
The Soul Rebels – Last year’s Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival
Cory Henry – Switch
Kamasi Washington – Asha The First
The summer truly kicks off for me with the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival. I’ll be there…hope you will, too.