First-Rate Performances at Pasadena’s Playboy Jazz Fest

Playboy Jazz in Central Park may not have had the marquee names of the Hollywood Bowl’s Playboy Jazz Festival, but it had plenty of attractive acts and appealing music. And the price--free--was right.

The three-day event, which was one of the centerpieces of the nonstop activities at the Old Pasadena Summer Fest, played before enthusiastic, standing-room crowds filled with family gatherings. Part of the fun, in fact, was watching the effect that the music had upon the young children in the audience. Dancing, swaying with the rhythms, playing air guitars and air saxophones, they immediately tapped into the life and vigor that are so intrinsic to the jazz experience.

Understandably, the entire schedule was filled with local artists. But the quality of the music, at least on Sunday, was in no way provincial--strong evidence of the high quality of players residing in the Southland. And the balance of smooth jazz, mainstream and Latin acts on each of the programs offered something special for nearly every musical taste.

Billy Higgins’ talented young World Stage All-Stars kicked off Sunday’s program, followed by keyboardist Patrick Tuzzolino and blues singer Charlie Jene--whose rousing performance motivated the crowd to demand an encore number. Jennifer York may be best known as KTLA-TV Channel 5’s airborne traffic reporter, but she also has a burgeoning career as a jazz bassist. Her all-female band, playing a set dominated by York’s funk-driven grooves, sounded good enough to warrant a spot in the male-dominated Playboy Jazz Festival lineup.

Tenor saxophonist/bass clarinetist Benny Maupin was Sunday’s mainstream entry, and he showed up leading an all-star quartet that included keyboardist Patrice Rushen, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Ndugu Chancler. The music was first-rate, with Maupin playing several probing solos that made no concession to the festival’s easygoing atmosphere. Wisely, he wound up his set with one or two irresistible rhythm grooves that quickly brought the crowd to its feet.

Winding up the Sunday program, the performance of the rousing Pete Escovedo Orchestra (with Escovedo’s daughter Sheila E and guitarist Ray Obiedo as special guests) was the high point of the day. Blending first-rate soloing with surging Latin rhythms, the Escovedo ensemble sounded good enough to play with anybody, anywhere.