The Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival will once again grace the Hollywood hillsides when it returns this summer for the weekend of June 15-16th. Co-curated by Herbie Hancock and Kamasi Washington the event has just announced its initial lineup, which will include performances by Jodeci, Washington, and Robert Glasper with special guest Yebba. Package holders can buy two-day packages right now. Group ticket sales start Tuesday, February 1st with single day tickets going on sale Tuesday, February 6th at 10am PST.
For 44 years the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival has remained a staple of the city and venue’s musical community. Rallying together and honoring every new generation of jazz singers and musicians from the amphitheater’s idyllic stage. True to that legacy is Oscar and 14-time Grammy winner Hancock’s relationship with the venue, both the LA Phil’s Creative Chair for Jazz and a frequent performer at the Bowl. While Los Angeles native Washington — blaring his signature saxophone with hypnotic flair — represents the very fruits of those labors as he keeps the tradition alive well into the 21st century.
Together the two jazz monoliths have put together a truly swinging lineup that includes North Carolina-born quartet Jodeci. Comprised of Donald “DeVanté Swing” DeGrate, Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate, Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey, and Joel “JoJo” Hailey, the group hit the 90’s running with their debut album Forever My Lady, going on to release two more albums. In 2015 they reunited to conceive their fourth album The Past, the Present, the Future. From Mary J. Blige and Usher to the many, many artists they helped discover — like Missy Elliott and Timbaland — the group’s longstanding influence is undeniable.
Another jazz icon will emerge when Glasper takes the stage to perform songs from his two-decades long career as a pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger. He’s performed with both Hancock and Washington in the past — the latter appearing on his 2019 Fuck Yo Feelings and the former joining one of his many supergroups Dinner Party in 2020.
He’s also enlisted singer/songwriter Yebba in the past for his month-long residencies at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. Making her appearance alongside him at this year’s Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival the culmination of many collaborations. She first rose to prominence after appearing as the backing vocalist for Chance the Rapper’s SNL performance of “Same Drugs” in 2016. Three years later she dropped her debut Dawn, produced in part by Mark Ronson, emerging as a powerful fuser of R&B and pop into jazz fusion.
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You won’t want to miss out on the 2024 Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival when it arrives June 15-16th. Stay tuned for a full lineup announcement on February 6th! In the meantime check out the other concerts taking place at the Bowl like SESSANTA: Primus, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle; Netflix Is A Joke; Sarah McLachlan; Caifanes + Café Tacvba and more!
Words: Steven Ward
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