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If you find yourself at Todos Santos Plaza in Concord, California, on a warm summer evening, you’ll likely catch the strains of a saxophone or the tap of a snare drum mingling with the scent of food trucks and the hum of conversation. Today, jazz feels woven into the fabric of Concord, but its place at this vibrant community square is the result of decades of music, migration, and one particularly influential hometown hero: Dave Brubeck.
Todos Santos Plaza, Spanish for 'All Saints,' was laid out as Concord’s central gathering spot in 1869. For much of its early life, the plaza hosted livestock shows and town meetings—not exactly the stuff of syncopated beats and improvisation. The now-iconic bandstand didn’t appear until the 1970s. But even before then, the plaza was a crossroads—a place waiting for its signature sound.
The Bay Area’s jazz story picked up in the mid-20th century, with San Francisco’s Fillmore District and Oakland’s 7th Street becoming epicenters for the genre. Young musicians from across the East Bay were drawn to these scenes, including a Concord native who would change the face of jazz: Dave Brubeck. Born in 1920 just blocks from Todos Santos Plaza, Brubeck grew up surrounded by music. His mother, Elizabeth Ivey Brubeck, a classically trained pianist, often played throughout town, sowing the seeds of musical curiosity in her son.
Dave Brubeck would go on to become one of the most influential jazz pianists of all time, known for classics like “Take Five” and his adventurous approach to rhythm and harmony. While Brubeck’s career took him far from Concord, his innovative spirit left a lasting imprint on his hometown. Local musicians and aspiring jazz students found inspiration in his success, and a quiet agricultural city was ready to embrace a new sound.
By the 1970s, Concord was growing—and so was its appetite for culture. City leaders sought to revitalize the downtown, and Todos Santos Plaza was at the heart of their plans. When the bandstand was built and community events began to fill the calendar, jazz was soon part of the lineup. Early concerts featured local bands and small ensembles, but as word spread and crowds grew, jazz took center stage. Students from the burgeoning jazz program at Diablo Valley College jammed alongside seasoned Bay Area musicians, and the plaza’s open-air setting proved ideal for the improvisational spirit of the genre.
The turning point came in 1969 with the founding of the Concord Jazz Festival, spearheaded by Carl Jefferson—a local car dealer and passionate jazz fan. Initially held at nearby venues, the festival quickly became a national event, attracting stars like George Shearing, Mel Tormé, and Rosemary Clooney. While the main stage eventually moved to the Concord Pavilion, the spirit of the festival was always rooted in the plaza, where impromptu jams and smaller performances kept the music alive for locals and visitors alike.
The jazz tradition only deepened in the following decades. In 1973, Jefferson founded Concord Records, a jazz label that would launch the careers of numerous artists and further solidify the city’s reputation as a jazz hub. Meanwhile, Todos Santos Plaza became a year-round home for live music, especially during the summer’s Music & Market Series, where jazz nights remain a highlight. Families gather on the lawn, children dance beneath the sycamores, and the bandstand—now equipped with state-of-the-art sound—echoes with the same spirit that Brubeck embodied.
Today, jazz at Todos Santos Plaza is more than a concert series—it’s a living tradition. It connects generations, draws visitors from across the Bay Area, and celebrates both international legends and local talent. When the sun sets and the first notes of a jazz standard drift across the plaza, you’re hearing more than music; you’re listening to Concord’s story—a story shaped by a visionary pianist, a community’s passion, and a square that has become, in its own way, a stage for history.
So next time you’re at Todos Santos Plaza as a jazz band takes the stage, remember: you’re not just an audience member—you’re part of a tradition that began with a dream and continues, one note at a time, right in the heart of Concord.