JAZZIN’ AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
I was invited to hear a jazz concert at the Hollywood Bowl. I am ashamed to admit that, after all the years I have lived in Los Angeles, I have never been there. I jumped at the chance, and I’m glad I did!
For anyone who’s never gone there: The Hollywood Bowl is an open-air concert venue. Events really ramp up during the summer, occurring almost every evening. They encourage you to bring food and drink, and munch leisurely on your dinner while you listen to the concert. Various well-known musicians and entertainers perform there. On this particular evening, we were to hear Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Band.
If you arrive in a cab, as we did, you are dropped off at the bottom of the hill. If you drive, God help you. It gets extremely congested, and the valets park you 4 and 5 deep. If you need to get out quickly, forget about your car. I recommend a cab or public transportation. Much easier.
There’s a trek uphill past various entrances, to the ticket line. (Wear comfortable clothes and shoes!) The friend of a friend who invited me, Maria, took us to the “Will call” line to pick up our tickets. Thank goodness, it moved pretty quickly.
We then walked uphill some more, around the various concession windows. (You don’t really want to buy your food there- Maria bought a bottle of wine for $30 and 8 pieces of sushi for $18.95!! Yikes!!!)
We passed the escalator that brings you further up the hill to the upper seats, and found an entrance. Happily, our box seats were on that level. We found them with the help of an usher, and made ourselves comfortable. Maria and my daughter went to get food and drink, which is when we found out you need several arms and legs to pay for it. Luckily I had brought some tortilla chips and my bottle of water, so I was set. (I had already eaten dinner.)
Directly in front, the seats with tables curve around the stage. Those of course, cost the biggest bucks. You can have waiters and everything. I don’t know if the food is included in the price, but I doubt it.
This elite section is separated from the next section (our section) by a low wall. We were in box seats, so it wasn’t shabby at all. Of course, they had large monitors on either side of the stage so you could see close-ups of the action.
As you go further and further uphill, the admission price drops lower and lower, and becomes more affordable for those of us who don’t own Mercedes Benzes. At the top of the hill, you’re sitting in the grass, so you bring a blanket to sit on, open up your picnic basket, and enjoy the show. The sound is excellent, so you don’t miss a thing.
The warm-up act was a young man called “Eldar.” He was very good – I’m just not wild about modern jazz. To me, it is intricately structured noise played upon musical instruments. Modern jazz fans do not need to lynch me, I personally just don’t find it very musical. I can appreciate the skill involved, however.
Then the main act came on. They were great. Their type of jazz is what I like to listen to, when I’m in the jazz mood. In the first piece, two of the trumpeters had “duelling” solos, trying to outdo each other. Fun stuff. They had a guest artist play with them, too. Willie Nelson, of all people.
Yes, I’m ignorant, but I’ve been aware of Willie Nelson mainly as a country artist. Since I’m not crazy about country music, I wondered how that was going to work, but it was fine. Willie took his guitar jazz solo along with the rest of them, in one of the pieces. I was impressed.
By that time, Wynton was down in front, playing with Willie. Then, he introduced a new piece he’d written for a church, called “(You Got To Watch) The Holy Ghost”. I think that was my favorite. He made sounds on that trumpet like people wailing at an old-time revival. The rest of the band was right with him.
You know it was a good concert when they’re thanking the audience for coming, and you feel like they just started. Maria led us down into the backstage area. Since she’s acquainted with Wynton, she said she’d introduce us! So that put the cherry on top. Listening to wonderful music, then getting to meet the leader of the band! He was very nice, and we chatted a bit before he had to leave.
What a lovely introduction to the Hollywood Bowl! I’ll have to go there again. 
