Hefner's legacy as broad as his jazz festivals

A figure who was as influential as he was polarizing, Hugh Hefner built an empire that was ultimately based on ideas.

Sure, the dominant ones could easily be called lascivious - as well as exploitative and inarguably retrograde - but his Playboy brand was also built on providing a platform for ideas on liberation, literature, politics and, of course, music.

For Hefner, jazz was a frequent beneficiary of that platform in his pages, clubs and the festival that bears his publication's name. Though an L.A. institution for decades, the Playboy Jazz Festival also has inspired mixed feelings for at