World Premier of Dave Brubeck's newest music "Ansel Adams: America"

World famous Jazz Musician Dave Brubeck and Chris Brubeck Premiered their symphonic tribute to Ansel Adams at my college in Stockton. Chris Brubeck was there, as well as the family of Ansel Adams, but Dave was sick in a hospital so he couldn't come. The piece was performed by the Stockton Symphony accompanied by photographs by Adams that alternated with the music perfectly.I got to see it!

You might wonder why Dave Brubeck would choose Stockton, it's because he was born in Concord and went to the University of the Pacific here when he was a teenager. It was here in Stockton at college that he decided to become a professional musician. He has since performed in Stockton many times.

Dave was scheduled to perform his album "Time Out" in its entirety (the first time ever fully performed live)50 years after releasing it, including the most awesome "Take Five". Hopefully he'll get well.

I first learned about Dave Brubeck through his song "Take Five". I was at Kadena Air Force base in Okinawa and a recording of a Dave Brubeck concert was being used as the demo for the TVs for sale. When "Take Five" played I recognized the song and told my friend it has always been my absolute favorite jazz song, I just had no idea what it was called or who was playing it. Months later my friend went home to Illinois and was able to find out through his dad what the song was. It wasn't until I came back to Stockton out of the Navy that I found out Dave Brubeck was one of my grandfather's favorite musicians growing up, and my dad and brother both had some of his albums.

There's a street named after him a few blocks from my house that runs along UOP and the Dave Brubeck Jazz Festival put on by the Dave Brubeck Institute was held around the corner from my house last weekend.

lol.

Just to put icing on the "music near my house" cake, Street Scene in San Diego, that was nearing bankruptcy because they stopped actually doing the concerts in San Diego, finally went back downtown. Local San Diegans know that it was entirely because of the Street Scene concert that downtown and the Gas Lamp were revitalized. When Street Scene first held its concerts on 5th avenue, all the businesses were rundown, there were crackheads on every corner, nothing but slum. The concerts brought people back to the center of San Dog and money came with them, a couple decades later downtown San Diego has become one of the biggest tourist attractions on Earth. I lobbied hard a few years ago when Street Scene left San Diego. I wrote to whoever I could contact that was a part of Street Scene. Back then every idiot in charge, and the general public had this attitude that Street Scene was "too big" and "in the way" of downtown. Well once the "too big" Street Scene moved out of the city it nearly went bankrupt, and the A - list performers stopped coming. I thought it was a tragedy that the concert that made Gas Lamp what it was, was being driven away and killed. Well, either my lobbying helped, or they just came to their senses, because Street Scene last year went back to downtown, not only that, it was held literally one block from where I used to live. Unfortunately I was here in Stockton, but I'm comforted just by its return. San Diego may be a city full of smug douchebags, but I like it anyway, it's beautiful, it has anything you want, it is California at its finest.

Yay California. Made from the best stuff on Earth.