The Concord Jazz Festival is an annual event that was established in 1969 in Concord, California. The festival was launched by Carl Jefferson, a car dealer and jazz enthusiast, who managed to get a group of friends to support the concept. The city agreed to pay for half the cost. The first festival was held on 26 January 1969 in a field next to the high school called the Concord Boulevard Neighborhood Park. It attracted 17,000 attendees. Performers in subsequent years included Oscar Peterson, Pearl Bailey, Peter Nero, George Shearing, Ella Fitzgerald, Gerry Mulligan, and Dave Brubeck.In May 1975 the Concord Pavilion was opened, a roofed area with no walls that covers 3,500 seats with room for 4,500 more on the surrounding lawns. The pavilion is used for many other purposes.