As we made the drive down to LA we were already juiced from such a wild week (see my previous post for more info on that.) I spent most of Saturday kicking it at the festival, saw Chick Corea, Marcus Miller, Naturally 7 (acapella band) and Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. I was surprised how the acoustic jazz acts, and basically all the instrumental acts, didn’t receive much audience attention on Saturday. The bands with vocals were definitely the hit. No surprise right?! A group of the JM road dogs went to the Roxy after the fest to see Uriah Duffy’s new band The Memorials led by ex-Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen and featuring Kev Choice’s vocalist Vivica Hawkins . They rocked out with so much soul, like no other group I’ve seen lately.

Sunday morning we I was surprised to hear that the whole band made it to the 9:30 a.m. load in at the Hollywood Bowl, and I was the last person to get there. Amazing. A really interesting thing about the Hollywood Bowl is the rotating stage. Two acts fit on the “turntable” stage which allows for non-stop music through the day without any breaks. Another interesting thing about the Playboy Festival is that all the groups play 45 minute sets, regardless of how mega famous they are; there were some entertaining moments seeing how the various artist’s negotiated the situation when the turntable stage started to move at the end of their 45 minute allotted time slots.

As we got on the stage to soundcheck it was one of the weirdest feelings I’ve ever experienced – Looking out , or up, at the completely empty Hollywood Bowl, it’s striking how much of a vertical climb the seating covers. We got in trouble for taking pictures of the Bowl but aside from that, the crew and staff were super amazing to us and of course I managed to sneak in a few pictures.

The backstage area was a small city, with all the sets for the acts performing that day completely assembled on movable risers. The efficiency of the whole operation was staggering. Compared to our experience just 2 days before at the Harmony fest it was a completely different operation – At Harmony we had a few crew members helping us out (and they forgot to order microphones…) and at Playboy they had a crew of 24 making sure that every element and detail was taken care of. AWESOME!

As we went onstage – about 1/3 full audience capacity- the band, many of them with hangovers, seemed the most alive I’ve seen in awhile. Even with a very short soundcheck, things were sounding really good on stage as the rotating stage brought us around to the front. The set was epic for sure, everyone played their best and the band was really smoking. I was elated that as we neared the middle of the “At My Window” finale, it seemed like we would possibly be able to finish before the 45 minute timer expired. I’d spent weeks re-orchestrating and editing the piece from over 60 minutes down to under 45 and it worked! Some highlights for me; cruising out into the audience with a wireless mic for my bone solo on “Window” and not dropping my trombone after throwing it about 20 feet in the air and catching it to cue the end of the last note. Success. I regretted not bringing my skateboard and shredding a little on the stage while playing trombone…oh well, maybe next time!

The rest of our day at the Bowl was a great vacation after one of the most intense weeks the Jazz Mafia has ever had. We got to kick it and check out Esperanza Spaulding, she was amazing and is the real deal. Many of us got to meet her and now want to marry her. Irving Mayfield’s New Orleans Jazz Orchestra was swingin’ hard, George Benson sounded a bit cheesy but compared to Manhattan Transfer he seemed like some cutting edge indy artist that just hit the scene. But seriously, I was super impressed with George Benson – I’ve always been a fan but he really slayed it live.

It was truly an honor for the Jazz Mafia to be asked to perform at the Playboy Jazz Festival. We met so many new music lovers and it warmed my heart to see the band come together to a point where it is starting to feel so tight it’s scary! We’re SO looking forward to our first East Coast tour!