The Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival is an event held in the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

that celebrates jazz and features both established and up-and-coming jazz musicians. Founded in 1959 by

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles which provoked charges of obsc ...

as the Playboy Jazz Festival, it was held in Chicago but did not recur until 1979, when the venue was moved to the Hollywood Bowl. In 2022, the festival changed its name. It was held June 25 and 26 that year and hosted by comedian Arsenio Hall. The event is organized by the

Los Angeles Philharmonic Association The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, which presents the summer

concerts.

History

The festival was founded as the Playboy Jazz Festival by

and first held in Chicago at the

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. ...

in 1959. However, the festival did not occur again until 1979, when the

played host in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in celebration of the magazine's 25th anniversary. The event is held there annually; in 2022, it changed its name to the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival.

The Festival

The Festival is held on a Saturday and Sunday in mid-June. Bill Cosby was the emcee of the majority of the annual festivals from 1979 to 2012. In 2013, comedian George Lopez took over after Cosby retired, and continued hosting through 2021. The 2022 festival was hosted comedian Arsenio Hall. In 2014, the

, which presents the summer

concerts, assumed presenting and booking duties. The Festival is broadcast live by the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

jazz

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

station

KKJZ KKJZ (88.1 MHz FM, "K-Jazz 88.1") is a non-commercial public radio station in Southern California broadcasting from the Long Beach State campus. The station is one of several public radio stations in Southern California presenting jazz and blue ...

. In 2020, the festival was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In November 2021 it was announced, that from June 2022, the event would be named Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival.

References

External links

* Jazz festivals in the United States Music festivals in Los Angeles Playboy Jazz clubs in California Hollywood Bowl Jazz festivals in California Jazz clubs in Illinois {{Jazz-festival-stub