Concord Jazz Festival

The Concord Jazz Festival was an annual Jazz Festival in Concord ( California). It was founded in 1969 by Carl Jefferson and devoted herself to mainstream jazz.

Jefferson was a car dealer and jazz fan, who wanted to create alternatives to the former overwhelming dominance of rock and pop music, which was also reflected in the jazz area. The first festival took place on 26 January 1969 at Concord Boulevard Neighborhood Park near the high school instead and found 17,000 listeners. In 1975, the Concord Pavilion (now Sleep Train Pavilion ) opened on the eastern edge of Concord ( with an opening concert on 16 May with Sarah Vaughan and Henry Mancini ), which covered 3,500 seats, but also other listeners Open Air enables participation, since it does not walls has. The architect was Frank Gehry. It is also used for many other events and corresponds to the idea of a festival without social barriers, the envisioned Jefferson. The festival drew many visitors from the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California.

At the festival occurred, among other Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Gerry Mulligan, George Shearing, Dave Brubeck ( who was born in Concord ), Scott Hamilton, Ray Brown, Ernestine Anderson and Pearl Bailey. Jefferson also had a fondness for jazz guitarists of mainstream jazz that occurred here very frequently. Live albums have been developed also with the Woody Herman Big Band with Stan Getz in 1981, Charlie Byrd ( Sugarload Suite 1980), Herb Ellis, Joe Pass (Seven, Come Eleven 1973).

Jefferson built his involvement with private own record label ( Concord Records) in 1972 (2004 merged with Fantasy Records).

Later, it was the addition of the sponsor Fujitsu. For example, there is a live album from 27th Fujitsu- Concord Jazz Festival 1996. This also shows in Japan were organized. Today, still in the Sleep Train Pavilion events take place, but no jazz festival.