Playboy fest closer tries to keep up

The challenge facing Sunday’s Playboy Jazz Festival was the high bar set by the previous day’s program at the Hollywood Bowl. Saturday’s cohesive, well-planned opening festivities provided a tough first act to follow -- too tough, as it turned out, for Sunday’s performers, many of whom failed to get off the ground.

This year’s festival was based on the premise that opening the jazz tent to encompass a far-reaching collection of styles can effectively replace the major-star lineups of past festivals. On Saturday it worked superbly, on Sunday only rarely.

The day opened with an upbeat set by the enthusiastic young players of the North Hollywood High School Jazz Band. Ledisi, a Bay Area singer making her festival debut, followed with a program notable primarily for its energy, animation and largely failed attempts to get the early-afternoon crowd to join in her R&B-influenced; singing.

Drummer Chico Hamilton’s appearance, despite the vigorous presence of guest saxophonist Eric Person, was surprisingly lackluster, eons away from the classic work of his superb quintets of the late ‘50s. And vibraphonist Roy Ayers, a pioneer in various forms of jazz fusion and funk, emphasized groove rhythms and featureless tunes.

The DaKAH Hip-Hop Orchestra, a 40-plus-member ensemble, was more fascinating for its potential than its actual delivery. Led by Geoff Gallegos, the ensemble worked toward a blend of symphonic sounds, jazz and rap with hip-hop rhythms and a buoyantly dynamic group togetherness. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but the promise is there.

The next segment came close to rescuing the day with a series of upbeat performances. Saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer “Tootie” Heath, leading their Heath Brothers group, brought character, maturity and fine jazz invention to the Bowl stage. New Orleans’ Dr. John awakened a crowd tending toward somnolence, romping through a collection of Crescent City classics. And Puerto Rican singer Gilberto Santa Rosa kept the spirit moving with enough salsa rhythms to trigger dancing in the aisles.

Sunday’s improvisational highlight followed with Saxophone Summit, featuring Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman and Joshua Redman (replacing the scheduled Michael Brecker). The very different players came together in stunningly inventive fashion, juxtaposing Lovano’s brusque, masculine tenor lines with Liebman’s intense soprano and Redman’s probing, envelope-stretching tenor forays.

George Benson, in the prime-time position, has the ability to play guitar at a similarly exalted level. But as he has done before,, he offered a crowd-pleasing set that was little more than a pre-packaged collection of his hits.

Closing the day on an upbeat note, the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band performance brought a potent reminder of the importance of the word “Jazz” in the Playboy Jazz Festival label.