It’s Showtime in L.A. for the Playboy Jazz Festival

Ask George Wein, producer of the sold-out Playboy Jazz Festival--which celebrates its 10th annual weekend Saturday and Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl--why the bash has become such a success and the former Bostonian has a simple answer:

“You can compare the Playboy Jazz Festival to the Los Angeles Lakers: It’s showtime!” Wein said. “The Lakers are the glamour team of basketball; Playboy is the glamour festival of jazz festivals.”

Wein, the 62-year-old head of Festival Productions, the organization that produces Playboy, Newport, and other jazz festivals worldwide, says Playboy has become a must-see event for Southern California jazz lovers.

“People know they’re going to hear the two greatest afternoons of music they like,” he said. “The atmosphere of the bowl, the fact that there are a lot of personalities there, (that emcee) Bill Cosby is there, even though he doesn’t perform, this also means a lot. I think it gives it the kind of glitz people like in California.”

For the musicians, the operative word at Playboy seems to be festival.

“This festival is really a festive occasion,” said trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, 60, who played at the festival in 1982 and 1986 and who will appear Sunday. “They’ve made jazz into a celebration. Playboy, Hefner, all those cats are people who understand what a celebration this festival is. For example, (in 1986), before we played, my guys are up front, listening to B. B. King, and their boss is doing the same thing. You don’t get that at a one-night thing.”

The spirit the affair engenders in the players results in “a lot of exuberance, a lot of electricity in the air,” said tenor saxophonist Harold Land, 59, who was the opening act in 1979 and who plays Sunday with the Timeless All-Stars. “And though naturally there’s a segment that’s there to party, have a good time amongst themselves, there’s a larger segment of the audience that is attentive and there specifically to enjoy the music.”

On the other side of the footlights, musicians say they are buoyed by the audience’s reaction to them. “We love playing music in L.A.,” said Jay Beckenstein, 37, leader of the group Spyro Gyra, which also appears Sunday. “We are very well received here and what could be more L.A. than the Bowl?”

Wein believes that another reason the festival is so successful is that its blend of contemporary and traditional styles on the same program attracts a wide audience.

“Darlene (Chan, senior West Coast Director for Festival Productions, who does much of the programming for Playboy) and I found the placing of crossover jazz along with, shall we say, purist jazz, which is the contemporary concept of what a jazz festival is, to be a good mix,” Wein said. “Many jazz fans have no real roots in jazz; they’re too young. They’re interested in jazz as a contemporary music. They need something that relates to their musical background.”

Chan points out that acts like Nigeria’s King Sunny Ade and the strictly R&B; band, the Fabulous Thunderbirds--both of which appear Saturday--don’t find a lot of favor with the “true” jazz fan. “But I can’t see someone liking every group that’s on,” she said. “Your tastes would have to be very eclectic to like everything. Still, you get a choice, a lot things for one program.”

It’s Chan’s intent to balance the shows carefully. She tries not to have two traditional or two fusion groups back to back. “What I do is close my eyes and visualize myself sitting in the audience and trying to figure out what would work,” she said. “Sometimes I miss, sometimes I don’t.”

This kind of juxtaposing of styles leads to surprises no one can anticipate. “In 1982, (saxophonist) Grover (Washington, Jr.) had them screaming, dancing in the aisles,” Chan recalled. “We spun (the Bowl’s turntable) stage and Lionel (Hampton) was on. They never sat down. It works sometimes, putting more contemporary groups with old-timers.”

“There were magic moments from day one,” Chan went on. “For me, it was “Sing, Sing, Sing” (with singers Jon Hendricks, Bobby McFerrin, Dianne Reeves and Janis Siegel in 1985). That was putting together four singers for a jam session instead of four musicians. The audience didn’t know what to expect, but the magic happened.”

One event assembled especially for this year’s event is Sunday’s set by Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, to be led by trumpeter Jon Faddis and featuring an all-star L.A. based crew. “That’s one of the things I like about Playboy,” said Gillespie, 70, who played at the 1979-81 festivals. “People hear you in something other than your usual role.”

The festival originated in 1979, as part of Playboy magazine’s 25th anniversary. It first first sold out in advance in 1980, and tickets for this year’s event went on sale Jan. 15 and were gone by May 1. Still, Chan doesn’t take a sellout for granted. “I don’t think we’d sell out unless we had a good show,” she said. “If we booked people only I liked, we’d only sell 9,000-10,000 tickets a day. The reason it sells out is that we book people who sell tickets, but they have to be musically valid.”

Though most of the audience is from Southern California, there are those that travel halfway around the world for a weekend of good jazz. “People plan their vacations around it,” said Chan. “We have people coming from Saudi Arabia, Australia; they write every year. And these aren’t box-seat holders; they sit on the benches with everyone else.”

Chan added that there are several groups who buy up blocks of tickets to better enjoy the party atmosphere with their friends and associates. “One group buys up 180 seats at the very top of the Bowl,” she said. “They spread out, bring blankets, food.”

Plans for next year’s lineup won’t begin until September or October, Chan said. “I need a break,” she laughed. “Besides, I have to deal with Jazz at the Bowl (the occasional series of jazz concerts Festival Productions produces in conjunction with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn.) this summer,” she said.

Playboy maintains a mailing list to advise about ticket sales. For information about next year’s festival, call (213) 450-9040, beginning Monday.

The Order of Appearances for Festival

Music starts at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the 10th annual Playboy Jazz Festival at Hollywood Bowl. Comedian Bill Cosby will be the master of ceremonies. The event is sold out. The order of appearances:

Saturday

The Cal State University Long Beach Big Band; Maynard Ferguson and High Voltage; the Ray Brown Trio with Gene Harris; Kirk Whalum; the World Saxophone Quartet; the Fabulous Thunderbirds; Bob Florence’s Limited Edition Big Band; Carmen McRae; Kenny G; and King Sunny Ade and the Golden Mercury of Africa.

Sunday

The Hennessy Jazz Search Winner; Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham; the Timeless All-Stars with Bobby Hutcherson and Cedar Walton; Latin Jazz ’88 with Airto and Flora Purim; Ahmad Jamal; Spyro Gyra; Dizzy Gillespie’s All-Star Big Band; Bobby McFerrin; and Ray Charles and his Orchestra.