Genre Music festival Venue Hollywood Bowl Years active 1959, 1979 to present Location Los Angeles Founded by Hugh Hefner | Frequency Annually Country United States Inaugurated 1959 (1959) Sponsor Playboy Enterprises | |
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Maynard ferguson at the 1982 playboy jazz festival
The Playboy Jazz Festival is an annual event sponsored by Playboy Enterprises to celebrate jazz as well as feature both established and up and coming musicians of the genre.
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History
It was founded by Hugh Hefner and was first held in Chicago, Illinois at the Chicago Stadium in 1959. However, the second festival did not occur until 1979 when it was moved to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The event has been held there ever since.
The Festival
The Festival is held on a Saturday and Sunday in mid-June. Bill Cosby was the emcee of the majority of the annual festivals from 1979 to 2012. In 2013, comedian George Lopez hosted for the first time, and did so again in 2014 and 2015. Lopez is scheduled to emcee once again in 2016.
In 2014, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, which presents the summer Hollywood Bowl concerts, assumed presenting and booking duties.
The Playboy Jazz Festival is broadcast live by the Southern California jazz public radio station KKJZ.