\u201cBruce Labadie helped build San Jose Jazz into one of the country\u2019s truly unique music institutions,\u201d San Jose Jazz Board President Julie Ramirez said. \u201cHis artistic vision has shaped not only this festival, but the cultural identity of San Jose itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramirez isn\u2019t exaggerating. Labadie, who received San Jose\u2019s Cornerstone of the Arts award for his work in 2019<\/a>, has been steering South Bay cultural institutions for the past half-century. He started the Tapestry in Talent festival in San Jose for the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 and went on to turn the Mountain Winery into a concert draw and direct performing arts at Montalvo. He spent years booking San Jose\u2019s Music in the Park, Los Gatos\u2019 Jazz on the Plazz series and the Fountain Blues and Brews Festival.<\/p>\n If you heard a horn blow in Santa Clara County, Bruce Labadie probably had something to do with it.<\/p>\n When I chatted with Labadie at the Fountain Blues kickoff party a couple of weeks ago, he assured me he wasn\u2019t retiring from everything, so he\u2019ll still have his hand somewhere in the South Bay music scene.<\/p>\n But at least Labadie is leaving San Jose Jazz on a high note with a stellar Summer Fest lineup that includes Trombone Shorty, the Soul Rebels, the Afro-Cuban All-Stars and Patti Labelle, among a host of other Latin, Funk, R&B and Salsa performers. (The full lineup for the Aug. 7-9 festival is available at summerfest.sanjosejazz.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\n And we should all be thrilled that he\u2019s passing the torch to Christian Vela, currently San Jose Jazz\u2019s associate artistic director and production manager. He\u2019s been the lead programmer of the SJZ Break Room \u2014 helping make the downtown office lobby one of the smoothest jazz rooms in the Bay Area \u2014 and has worked alongside Labadie for the past two years, co-booking SummerFest last year and this year.<\/p>\n Vela was born and raised in East San Jose and spent 12 years with SF Jazz before San Jose Jazz Executive Director Brendan Rawson was able to lure him back home five years ago. More than being a homegrown talent, Vela understands how the festival works. Labadie says Vela not only knows musicians, he understands backline \u2014 the instruments and audio equipment on stage \u2014 as well as logistics and timing.<\/p>\n \u201cBruce built something truly special here,\u201d Vela said in a statement. \u201cMy goal is to honor Bruce\u2019s legacy while building upon the extraordinary foundation he created. San Jose Jazz has become part of the cultural fabric of this city, and I\u2019m committed to helping ensure it continues to evolve in meaningful and exciting ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Labadie said he\u2019s been through some tough transitions before, but this one seems natural.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been through a lot of changes, working for so many venues, but there was always a good time to move on,\u201d he said, noting that he was always part of great teams. \u201cSo many friends, workers, musicians have loved what we do, and I\u2019m very happy to have built that for San Jose Jazz to continue with.\u201d<\/p>\n TEXTILE RESISTANCE: Historian Connie Young Yu will be at the Los Altos History Museum on Wednesday to discuss the creation and impact of the People\u2019s Bicentennial Quilt, a project started in 1974 by Mountain View quilter and political cartoonist Gen Guracar.<\/p>\n Yu wrote \u201cPatchwork History: The People\u2019s Bicentennial Quilt\u201d in 1976, going into detail about each of the 45 panels. Some of them depict traditional Bicentennial fare like the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, but the also cover women\u2019s rights, the Watts riots, the Trail of Tears and other sometimes glossed over points in U.S. history.<\/p>\n![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SJM-L-PIZARRO-COL-0712.jpg\")
Christian Vela, who grew up in East San Jose, will be the new artistic director for San Jose Jazz beginning in September 2026. He will succeed Bruce Labadie, who has held the position since 1990. (Courtesy San Jose Jazz)\u00a0<\/p>\n