In conjunction with the 27th annual Playboy Jazz Festival, the festival will feature a series of free concerts throughout the Los Angeles area to highlight local and up-and-coming talents.
The series begins on May 1 at the Beverly Hills Civic Center Plaza with the Bobby Rodriguez Salsa Jazz Orchestra and Nicole Alexis Williams, while the May 6 performance features the L.A. Multi-School Jazz Band under the direction of Reggie Andrews at the Bradley Senior Center, Watts.
Playboy Jazz at the Rose Bowl will take place from May 28-30, featuring a plethora of performances from 11 a.m. to sundown each day. Artists performing on Saturday include Jeff Kashiwa and the Coastal Access Band; Henry Franklin Group; Vocal Legacy featuring Victor Fields and Clairdee; and Oskar Cartaya and the Enclave. On Sunday, performers include Ronnie Laws, Bill Fulton Band, Odara and Kristin Korb, and Monday’s line-up features artists such as Steve Oliver, Rickey Woodward, Taylor Eigisti and Luis Conte.
The series closes on June 9, not with a concert, but rather with the Los Angeles premiere of the movie Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue and an evening of rare jazz film footage. The event will be hosted by Mark Cantor at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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