Playboy gets a bad rap, and understandably so, what with the pictures of naked ladies and all. But when it comes down to it, head playboy Hugh Hefner is a class act. He prints some A-#1 short fiction between the playmate pictorials and even gives us jazz to listen to by way of the Playboy Jazz Festival and the discs released on the one-year-old Playboy Jazz record label. And this May Hef’s giving you jazz for free, if you’ll be in the Los Angeles area to take advantage of it.
On Sun., May 5, the Playboy Jazz Festival will present a free community concert at the Beverly Hills Civic Center Plaza featuring Latin-jazz trumpeter Bobby Rodriguez (pictured left) and his Salsa Orchestra and the eclectic Eastern European jazz quintet Hollywood Klezmer. Rodriguez takes the stage at 3 p.m. and Hollywood Klezmer ought to be finished by 5.
Another free, Playboy Jazz Festival-sponsored event will be held on Fri., May 10, this time in Watts at the Watts Senior Center where the Los Angeles Multi-School Jazz Band under the direction of producer/arranger Reggie Andrews will perform popular tunes of the big-band era (attending will be a good way to get your Ellington and Basie fix, we’re sure). The show starts at 11 a.m. and will wrap up around 1 p.m.
For more information about the community concert series or the Playboy Jazz Festival, call (310) 449-4070.
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