Wyclef Jean, Patti LaBelle, R+R=NOW, Cory Henry Take Blue Note Jazz Festival To Hollywood Bowl & Beyond

When it comes to jazz music, Los Angeles isn’t and will never be New Orleans. But as the epicenter of the global music industry, the City of Angels can hold its own in just about any genre and but is actively making strides to further assert itself in myriad live music scenes—jazz included.

There was the Santa Monica International Jazz Festival in May. Come August, the L.A. Jazz Festival will plant its flag with 17 days of music across the city, culminating in a two-day festival at Dockweiler Beach featuring John Legend, Janelle Monae, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, and many more.

Those two brand-new events stand on the shoulders of a longtime giant on the city’s north end. What first appeared in L.A. as the Playboy Jazz Festival in 1979 has since morphed into the Blue Note Jazz Festival, though its home at the Hollywood Bowl and hosting by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association remain the same. The affiliation with Blue Note began in 2025, just before the global brand of jazz clubs opened its doors in Hollywood.

This year marked an even deeper and broader integration between Blue Note, the jazz festival, and the city of L.A.—with Arsenio Hall reprising his role as host.

The fun began on the second Saturday of June with a deep bill headlined by Wyclef Jean. Nearly two years after he was supposed to play the Hollywood Bowl with the Fugees, the Haitian sensation returned to play a fittingly jazzy set filled with tracks from across his hit-filled catalog and beyond. He dedicated a rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Take the ‘A’ Train” to “one of my greatest mentors ever,” the late Quincy Jones; invoked his Fugees cohort Lauryn Hill with a cover of “His Eye Is On The Sparrow;” told a story about the legendary Clive Davis imploring him to write a song for Carlos Santana and then sang that song, “Maria Maria;” and drew from some of his now-classic solo works, including “Gunpowder” and “Gone Till November.”

That all came on the heels of some spectacular instrumental jazz. Robert Glasper reunited his supergroup R+R=NOW—featuring Terrace Martin, Derrick Hodge, Taylor McFerrin, Justin Tyson, and “Chief” Xian aTunde Adjuah—to interpret tracks from their lone album, Collagically Speaking, released in 2018 via Blue Note Records. Blues guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram shredded his way through an appearance during Yussef Dayes’ set, which also saw the English drummer and composer keep time during a tribute to the late Jaco Pastorius by bassist Rocco Palladino, the son of famed low-end man Pino Palladino.

Related: The Heavyweights Flex Their Muscle In New Orleans With Oteil Burbridge & Robert Glasper [Photos/Videos]

The day began with the L.A. County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) Big Band and Vocal Jazz Ensemble showing off a tremendous assemblage of talented players, some of whom are sure to make waves in the music industry for years to come. They warmed up the venue for Elena Pinderhughes, who made her band-leading debut after many appearances alongside other artists at the Hollywood Bowl, including Herbie Hancock. Her flute served as a flutteringly sweet prelude to Kokoroko, who kicked up the tempo with their infectious brand of British Afrobeat.

Sunday’s bill leaned further into vocal performance. After an opening stint by the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Ensemble Performance at UCLA, Cimafunk and his band, la Tribu, stormed onto the stage with a wave of Afro-Caribbean jazz-funk that kicked up the night’s energy more than a few notches.

Samara Joy brought an intimacy to the vastness of the Hollywood Bowl with her classic vocal jazz. The 26-year-old Bronx native and 2023 Best New Artist Grammy Award-winner channeled legends like the technical Betty Carter and lauded arranger Billy Strayhorn, the latter drawing citations for “Upper Manhattan” and “I’ve Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good).”

Gregory Porter occasioned some EDM-by-association vibes with a smooth-jazz version of Disclosure’s “Holding On.” With his silky voice and signature black cap, the 54-year-old Sacramentan also dropped a medley of tunes from The Temptations—including “My Girl” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”—amid strolls through “Liquid Spirit,” “If Love is Overrated,” “Musical Genocide” and “1960 What?”

That all served as pristine prelude to a lively finale by Patti LaBelle. At 82, the “Godmother of Soul” commanded the stage with as much vim and vigor as ever, along with a voice that still soars after more than 60 years in the business. She punctuated her share of ballads with pop hits like “New Attitude” and “Lady Marmalade,” the latter performed partly by a lineup of men from the audience who took turns singing and dancing for Patti.

Had those two days at the Hollywood Bowl comprised the entirety of the Blue Note Jazz Festival, it would’ve been way more than enough to satisfy a musical sweet tooth. But the festivities weren’t confined to just the 17,000-seat shell at the top of the hill.

In between the two lineups, Cory Henry swapped his beloved “Church Experience” at The Miracle Theater in Inglewood for a “Gospel Brunch Experience” at Blue Note Los Angeles. That performance marked thos Blue Note location’s first foray into food and entertainment before 5 p.m., featuring a full brunch menu.

Naturally, the 39-year-old Snarky Puppy standout-turned-Grammy-winning solo artist leaned heavily into lively church music, both classical and original. From his own catalog, Cory drew “Burdens Down” from his 2024 gospel album, Church, as well as “Watches Over Me,” which he wrote the day before the January 2025 fires that swept through the L.A. area. Through it all, the Brooklyn native soared on vocals and was nothing short of exceptional on keys.

Indeed, Cory’s show turned the Blue Note Jazz Festival into a fully Hollywood affair. So, too, did the actor and comedian Janelle James—best known for her role as Ava Coleman on the TV comedy Abbott Elementary—who made a guest appearance introducing Kokoroko on Saturday.

All told, this particular festival sustained and strengthened its long-running reputation as a tentpole event on both the annual L.A. concert calendar as well as that of jazz music more broadly.

After this year’s edition, the Blue Note Jazz Festival remains an essential part of the region’s music scene while managing to expand its footprint in a city it’s called home for nearly 50 years.

Below, check out a gallery of photos from the 2026 edition of Los Angeles’ Blue Note Jazz Festival via Josh Martin.