Jazz, Jazz, Jazz

Jazz --festival variety -- will be blowing up a storm this summer, filling the sultry air with swinging sounds from one end of the U.S. to the other. And right in the center will be the biggest and most grandiose gala in the blustery 60-odd-year history of jazz music -- the Playboy Jazz Festival, August 7, 8 and 9.

The Playboy Festival -- the first ever sponsored by a national magazine -- will take place in Chicago, where, less than four decades ago, a young trumpeter named Louis Armstrong came up from New Orleans to join the King Oliver band; where a gawky kid named Benjamin Goodman learned to play a clarinet at Hull House; and where a cornetist named Jimmy McPartland and the Austin High Gang blew the kind of music that was later dubbed "Chicago Style." Louis Armstrong went on to become the most famous jazz personality in the world, while Benny Goodman became the undisputed king of the big-band swing era of the Thirties. Along came Dizzy Gillespie and something called bop, Stan Kenton with his progressive jazz, and cool schoolers such as the Dave Brubeck (continued on page 92)Jazz, Jazz, Jazz(continued from page 29) Quartet and the Jimmy Giuffre Three. They'll all be heard at the Play boy Jazz Festival, in the most spectacular jazz bash ever staged.

The number of rhythmic conclaves set for the current season is, like everything else in jazz this season, without precedent. In fact, the Playboy Jazz Festival will be like a stupendous chef-d'oeuvre in a vast, summerlong feast of jazz. Here is a complete list of all the important festivals across the country, with all the available information as of press time:

Berkshire music barn, Lenox, Massachusetts. Numerous jazz concerts on the grounds of Music Inn, featuring Count Basie, July 1; Stan Kenton, July 12; the Four Freshmen, July 15; Modern Jazz Quartet, August 2; Jimmy Giuffre, August 16; Duke Ellington, August 22. Also a three-week School of Jazz August 9-30. For full details and weekly resident rates write to Music Inn, Lenox, Mass.

Boston Jazz Festival, Boston, Massachusetts. Fenway Park, normally the home of the Red Sox, will yield August 21-23 to a rhythmic roundup assembled by the Sheraton Chain-Newport Festival folks. Appearing will be the Four Freshmen, Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson, Sarah Vaughan, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. For tickets, write to the Sheraton-Plaza, Boston, Mass.

Cincinnati Festival, Cincinnati, Ohio, in the pavilion of the Cincinnati Zoo, August 28-30. Chris Connor is the only one signed as of press time. For tickets, write to the Barney Rapp Agency, Hotel Sinton, 4th and Vine, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Detroit Jazz Festival, Detroit, Michigan. The first of what is hoped will be an annual event in the Motor City, to be held in the Symphony Shell of the State Fairgrounds August 14-16, featuring Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, the Dukes of Dixieland, Gene Krupa and others. Tickets: Mr. Ed Sarkesian, 16545 Mendota St., Detroit, Michigan.

Diplomat Jazz Festival, Hollywood-by-the-Sea, Florida. An eight-week festival, the first for the Sunshine State, is scheduled to run through July and August with such stars as Chris Connor, Dakota Staton, Gene Krupa, Gerry Mulligan, Flip Phillips and Bill Harris already signed. Tickets and information: Harold Gardner, The Diplomat, Hollywood-by-the-Sea, Florida.

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, Tamiment-in-the-Poconos, Pennsylvania, June 25-28. Lectures by Dr. Marshall Stearns, forums featuring Ellington musicians, concerts by the band, etc. For weekend and weekly resident rates write to Tamiment-in-the-Poconos, 7 East 15th, NYC 3.

Folk Music Festival, Newport, Rhode Island, Freebody Park. An offshoot of the jazz festival will make Newport news this season as the top names in folk music converge for their own special hoedown July 11 and 12. The Kingston Trio, Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, John Jacob Niles, Bob Gibson and Odetta have been signed as of press time. Write Newport Folk Festival, 63 Touro St., Newport, Rhode Island, for tickets.

French Lick Jazz Festival, French Lick, Indiana. Produced by Sheraton Chain-Newport Festival, the second annual session will take place July 30-August 2, with Stan Kenton, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong. Tickets: French Lick Music Festival, Sheraton Hotel, French Lick, Indiana.

Jazz on the Hudson, every Friday night through August 28, modern jazzmen entertain on all three decks of a Hudson riverboat on cruise. Departs from pier 80 in Manhattan at 9 P.M. Tickets: Jazz on the Hudson, Commodore Hotel, 42nd St. and Lexington Ave., New York.

Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, California. Activities at the second annual festival to be held on the Monterey County Fairgrounds October 2-4 will include new works by John Lewis, recently appointed Monterey musical director; and sessions featuring Sonny Rollins, J. J. Johnson, Erroll Garner, Jimmy Giuffre and Sarah Vaughan; also a special performance of a major concert work by Gunther Schuller. For tickets, write to Jazz, Monterey, California.

Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, Rhode Island. Founding event of the domestic festivals, the sixth annual affair gets under wail at Freebody Park. Talent includes Count Basie, the Four Freshmen, George Shearing, Ahmad Jamal, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, July 2; Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson, Phil Napoleon, Dizzy Gillespie, July 3; Erroll Garner, Duke Ellington, July 4; Louis Armstrong, Stan Kenton, Dave Brubeck, July 5. Enrollment: Newport Jazz Festival, 63 Touro St., Newport, Rhode Island.

Oakdale Musical Theatre, Wallingford, Connecticut. Features Broadway musicals, and will present one jazz concert in July and two in August. Dates have not been set as of press time. Write Oakdale Musical Theatre, Wallingford, Connecticut, for tickets and details.

Randall's Island Jazz Festival, New York City. Scheduled to appear August 21-23 are Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Gerry Mulligan and many others yet to be booked. Tickets: Randall's Island Jazz Festival, Henry Hudson Hotel, 353 West 57th St., New York 19.

Ravinia, Chicago, Illinois. Although this summerlong festival features mainly longlocks music, Les Brown will appear July 8 and 10; two nights -- August 5 and 7 -- will be devoted to The Story of the Blues with Clara Ward and her singers, Franz Jackson and His Original Jass All-Stars, John Davis, blues singer Brother John Sellers, and narration by Studs Terkel. Gerry Mulligan and the Kingston Trio are set to appear July 22 and 24. Tickets: Ravinia Festival Association, 231 S. La Salle St., Chicago, Ill.

Toronto Jazz Festival, Toronto, Ontario. Produced by the Sheraton Chain-Newport Festival, this will be held in the Canadian National Exhibition Park July 22-25 with many of the same artists who will appear at the French Lick Festival. Further details: Jazz Festival, Sheraton Prince Edward Hotel, Toronto, Ontario.

Playboy Jazz Festival, Chicago, Illinois, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Au gust 7, 8 and 9 -- one session Friday night at 8 P.M., two sessions each on Saturday and Sunday, one at 2 P.M., the other at 8 P.M. -- at the air-conditioned Chicago Stadium. 1800 West Madison St.

Each of the five performances will be entirely different, and equally star-studded. Performers have been chosen from among the finest jazz talent playing and singing today, with heavy emphasis on the winners of Playboy's annual Jazz Poll, and every school of jazz will be represented--Dixie, swing, progressive and cool. It will be possible to enjoy the performances of more jazz greats during this festival than most people are able to see and hear in a lifetime.

The shows are shaping up like this, with several gaps still in the talent roster: Friday evening, August 7, will feature the cool winds of the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet and the Kai Winding Septet. Also on tap will be the Sonny Rollins Trio, one of the most talked-about jazz groups playing today, as well as the firmly established Dave Brubeck Quartet, featuring Paul Desmond on alto, and the fresh sounds of the Jimmy Giuffre Three.

Saturday afternoon, August 8, the Festival stage will be jumping to jazzdom's most illustrious composer-arranger-pianist-bandleader, Duke Ellington, complete with orchestra. Blues will be served Oklahoma style by Jimmy (Sent for You Yesterday and Here You Come Today) Rushing. In a jazz combo contrast, the Dukes of Dixieland will be on hand, as will the Oscar Peterson Trio.

Saturday evening, the thundering Count Basie band will be on deck, along with vocalist Joe Williams. And to sing a song of Basie and along with Basie: the remarkable Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Combo excitement will be provided by Chicago's own Ahmad Jamal Trio, a headed-for-the-top jazz group, as well as the Jack Teagarden All-Stars and the Earl Bostic Sextet. All of Saturday's festivities -- both shows -- will be mc'd by jazz-digging yokster Mort Sahl.

The Sunday afternoon bash, August 9, will reunite the cyclonic Stan Kenton band with Stan's swinging ex-canary, June Christy. Also heard will be the exciting vocal stylings of the Four Freshmen, as well as ballads by fast-rising David Allen. For a change in pace, an added kick will be an approximate recreation of the Austin High Gang, featuring Jimmy McPartland's cornet, Bud Freeman's tenor sax, Pee Wee Russell's clarinet, George Wettling's drums and Art Hodes' piano.

The wind-up session Sunday night will offer a unique blend of the timely with the nostalgic: the show will celebrate the newly released flick, The Five Pennies, in which Danny Kaye (to Red Nichols' sound-tracking) re-enacts a segment of Red's life. Nichols will be present with his Five Pennies as will Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong and his All-Stars, who are seen and heard prominently in the movie. Other Sunday-night specials, along more modern lines, include the J. J. Johnson Quintet, chirper Chris Conner as well as tenor man Coleman Hawkins.

As we go to press, negotiations are also under way for Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, Sammy Davis, Jr., Johnny Mathis, Sarah Vaughan, Steve Allen, the Terry Gibbs band and others.

The Chicago Stadium, the gig spot, is the world's largest indoor arena. The home of a vast array of attractions, from sporting events to national political conventions, the mammoth arena has a seating capacity of more than 22,000. A few minutes' ride from the heart of Chicago's downtown area, the Stadium has many claims to fame, including residence of the world's largest (value: $250,000) pipe organ. The thousands of jazz fans pouring into the Stadium for Playboy's Jazz Festival weekend will make the event the biggest of its kind ever held. And the talent roster guarantees that it'll be the best, too.

Visually, the show will be unique, with spectacular, specially designed stage facilities. Aurally, too, every need has been anticipated: mikes and speakers will be strategically spread to provide the best possible sound. The entire sound system is under the supervision of Allied Radio, one of the world's largest high fidelity firms. Between sets, you can browse through an exhibition of the very latest in stereo components and records, and listen to demonstrations of the gear without charge.

In all, the Playboy Jazz Festival promises to be a swinging affair -- the beginning of The End. You'll have to write for tickets fast if you want to be assured of seats for you and your friends, since it's sure to be a sellout. Ducats can be had for individual performances ($5.50, $3.30, $1.10) or for all five performances for the price of four ($22, $13.20, $4.40), available from the Playboy Jazz Festival, Playboy Building, 232 E. Ohio, Chicago 11, Illinois. All seats are reserved. Like the man says, it's a scene you won't want to miss.