Concord Jazz Around Town, aka Concord Jazz Festival, is an annual laid-back party, spanning disparate venues in Concord, California, over several days in early August. Since its inception in the late 1960s, the festival has seen some of jazz music's most iconic names cross the stage. Among the top draws were Oscar Peterson, Peter Nero, Pearl Bailey, George Shearing, Gerry Mulligan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dave Brubeck.
The Concord Jazz Festival was birthed in 1969 thanks to the ingenuity and determination of Carl Jefferson. A car dealer and, at the same time, a jazz enthusiast, he managed to convince a group of friends and the town of Concord to support his idea. The initial edition ran at the Concord Boulevard Neighborhood Park, now named Dave Brubeck Park, and rounded up 17,000 merrymakers. Since May 1975, the festival has taken over a new home at the Concord Pavilion, accommodating 3,500 seated places and about 4,500 more on the lawns. Also, in 1973, the festival's founder launched Concord Records, which merged with Fantasy Records into Concord Music Group in 2004 and released superb classic albums.
For more details on the upcoming edition of the Concord Jazz Festival, visit the town's official website or Facebook. Lastly, keep an eye out for the nearby hotels on the accommodations map and book a comfortable stay in advance.
