2013 Playboy Jazz Festival: LA Times Review

Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times Jazz Critic
June 16, 2013

There was a moment at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night when a question came to mind that felt a little like a Zen koan: If you hear a guitar solo but can’t see a guitar, did the solo really happen?

It’s the sort of thought perhaps associated with backing tracks and radio-ready pop, but this was the Playboy Jazz Festival, and the source was unquestionably live in the vocal group Naturally 7, which closed a set steeped with hip-hop and R&B with an a cappella take on George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Bass, drums and that aforementioned guitar were on hand, but the only instruments were amplified voices.

Was it “real,” or did it have a place on a jazz festival’s bill?

Source: Los Angeles Times