Playboy festival gives power to the people

The crowds of people wending their way into the Rose Bowl over Memorial Day weekend had a laid back, holiday look. Nothing like the eager rush of pregame arrivals for a Super Bowl game, a vital Pac-10 contest or a national championship match.

And with good reason. The Playboy Jazz Festival’s three-day celebration of “Championship Jazz” had more to do with relaxed, good-vibes listening than with paint-your-face-blue-and-gold sporting intensity. As the centerpiece of the Pasadena Summer Fest, the jazz events played a significant role in drawing more than 100,000 attendees to the annual gala.

For Sunday’s program, what was most striking was the extent to which it’s a people’s festival. It helps, of course, that it was free. Add to that the wide-open spread of audience space on the bowl’s field. No box seats, no segmented-according-to-ticket-price locations -- just an opportunity to spread your blanket or sit on the grass wherever you like, according to how early you arrive.

Top it off with food stands offering fragrant selections, from the cool to the spicy, row after row of colorful arts and crafts, and the dynamic activities of the “Family Fun Fest” and “Sports Zone” locations.

The result was an event whose attendance actually reflected -- as so many events do not -- the Southland’s extraordinary mixture of races, nationalities, ages and ethnicities.

The music took a similar tack. Early arrivers heard the stimulating sounds of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts jazz combo and talented young members of the All Star Spotlight Band. Bassist Michael Haggins followed with his special brand of funk-driven smooth jazz.

Continuing the day’s youthful trend, the Cross-Hart Jazz Experience introduced a pair of the Southland’s most gifted emerging artists: bassist Ryan Cross and drummer Lorca Hart. Playing with relaxed confidence, the ensemble crossed from utterly contemporary rhythms to straight-ahead standards such as “Nature Boy,” stamping itself as a band to watch.

An older but no less compelling generation of jazz artists took over for the balance of the program. Pianist Bill Cunliffe’s band, Imaginacion, featured his beautifully crafted arrangements for the 10-piece ensemble, driven by his always-fascinating piano work and stirring Latin rhythms. Dave Pell’s coolly swinging Octet recalled the salad days of ‘50s West Coast jazz.

The Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band climaxed the program with a set featuring its characteristic collection of body-moving, foot-tapping, jazz-meets-salsa-meets-Afro Cuban-rhythms tunes. An appropriate climax for a people-jazz day in which there was a little something -- a lot, actually -- for everyone.