Gerry Hwang June 16th, 2025 - 12:00 PM
Summer is here, and jazz is back in fashion! Being hosted at Los Angeles’ iconic Hollywood Bowl, day one on June 14th of this year’s Blue Note Jazz Festival brought a lineup filled with youth, versatility and the tradition of jazz. Hollywood Bowl’s rotating stage ensured that the performances went on flawlessly, ensuring that the sound of jazz continued throughout the 7-hour-long festival (that felt too short, thanks to incredible performances by the participating artists). Here are some of the highlights from day one of the festival, including the co-headliner performances by De La Soul and legendary The Isley Brothers!
LA County High School for the Arts
Opening with youthful energy, the student jazz band from LA County High School for the Arts delivered a feel-good performance (with the ensemble including a cheerful choir, as well as eager wind and band instrumentalists). The festival opener felt like listening to a wholesome Christmas Carol on a summer’s day at a park – with the spirit of innocence bringing out charm and joy from the audience.
Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance Ensemble at UCLA
Following the joyful opening act, Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA transported the audience from a sunny outdoor park to a dimly lit underground jazz bar with a modern, chic interior. Delivering a refreshing take on free jazz, each of the aspiring musicians (wind and band instrumentalists) delivered a precise dissonance for the audience – with each of the instrumentalists showcasing their individualistic expressions through dedicated and purposeful solo performances, honoring the improvisational practices of jazz.
Pedrito Martinez
Afro-Cuban percussionist and singer Pedrito Martinez and his quartet’s performance brought a soothing tropical breeze for the audience. While skillfully playing Latin Percussion instruments, Martinez wholeheartedly delivered a sound and rhythm of Latin jazz (for Martinez, a mix of Afro-Cuban folkloric music and jazz). Martinez’s all white outfit also contributed to the feels of a cool and breezy summer, along with his playful singing (as well as dancing) throughout his set.
Lakecia Benjamin
American saxophonist and singer Lakecia Benjamin and her ensemble delivered an electrifying bebop jazz performance for the audience. Benjamin’s stage outfit (wearing an iconic golden pleated balloon pants with a white top) further complemented her flashy saxophone playing style, offering an explosive performance to perhaps exterminate all of the audience’s summer stress. Lakecia Benjamin seemed to have continued the spirit of immaculate saxophone playings of John Coltrane, all the while exhibiting her own strength and resilience despite her near career ending car accident back in 2021. Truly inspiring and explosively performative!
Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Dee Dee Bridgewater and devoted pianist Bill Charlap delivered a sensationally melancholic jazz performance. Bridgewater and Charlap’s performance was filled with the spirit of a traditional film noir-era jazz in the 40s (perhaps from Michael Curtiz’s films), especially by solely using a piano and a voice. The duo’s cover of Duke Ellington’s songs, as well as their seamless collaboration (between Bridgewater’s versatile vocal ability and Charlap’s accompanying piano ability) was quite classy and elegant.
De La Soul
If you like jazz and hip-hop, why not have both? Energetic and eclectic hip-hop group De La Soul delivered a funky wacky show for the audience, all the while creatively infusing the sound of jazz with their groovy rap performance. As opposed to the other lineups, De La Soul simply used a DJ set and rapping – ultimately convincing the audience that they were there to headline for a jazz festival (along with an impeccable sense of humor).
As the hip-hop group has been active since 1987, De La Soul currently consists of Vincent Mason (with the stage name Pasemaster Mase) and Kelvin Mercer (with the stage name Posdnuos). And some of the highlights throughout the night included their performance of nostalgia inducing old school hip-hop songs such as “Potholes in My Lawn,” constantly inviting the audience to groove along their set (and occasionally stopping the show mid-song to emphasize the audience to have fun), lively performance of “A Roller Skating Jam Named “Saturdays”,” and finishing off their co-headlining stage with the performance of the crowd favorite “Me Myself and I.” De La Soul’s performance was extremely amusing, reminding the audience about this new engaging form of hip-hop jazz.
The Isley Brothers
For the grand finale, legendary R&B, funk and rock group The Isley Brothers delivered a soulful razzle-dazzle to conclude the night. It is incredibly hard to believe how The Isley Brothers have not only been active since 1954 – their extravaganza filled performance was also a testament toward the relevance, persistence and impact of music on people’s everyday lives. Incorporating elements and rhythms of jazz into their music, The Isley Brothers (currently consisting of lead vocalist Ronald Isley, as well as extremely dexterous guitarist Ernie Isley) ensured that the audience relived the 20th century nostalgia both audially and visually.
The set began with the giant stage screens showing a short film of Ronald Isley and Ernie Isley re-creating iconic moments from Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972), while The Isley Brothers and their ensemble played the cover performance of its infamous theme song. Then as the stage began lighting up, the crowd erupted in cheers as Ronald Isley showed up with an all-white tuxedo, black fedora and an oversized long coat.
And as soon as Ronald set his foot on the stage, Ernie (who was also dressed up with dapper fashion sense, especially with a flowy black shirt that reminded the style of Jimi Hendrix) then began playing the riffs for their hit song “That Lady.” Some of the highlights of The Isley Brothers’ performance included their slow yet funky performance of “Between the Sheets,” talented backup vocalist and flamboyant backup dancers complimenting the nostalgic 70s’ live music aesthetic, Ronald’s soulful voice complimented with intricate guitar riffs of Ernie (and at one point, Ernie played the guitar solely with his teeth), as well as the heartfelt performance of “For the Love of You.”
The day one of the 2025 Blue Note Jazz Festival was a successful night filled with showcasing the vibrancy of jazz as an everlasting genre. Stay tuned for day two of the festival on June 15th, as it will co-headline an emerging alternative musician WILLOW and R&B/disco musician Grace Jones!
