October is JAZZ TIME in Texas, and the Texas Jazz Fest celebrates it's 50th year in 2010 with a bigger, better program than ever before. The annual Jazz Fest is staged in Corpus Christi's historical Heritage Park and is the perfect outdoor festival for those that appreciate the best in jazz music. HISTORY In November of 1959 Skip Vetters and Joe Gallardo, both members of the Jazz Club at Del Mar College, called Joe's uncle, Al "Beto" Garcia, with the request that he bring his jazz group to the Student Union Building of the College to give Jazz Club members a demonstration of the fine art of jazz. In response, on a very cold Thursday night, Beto, Joe Gallardo, Sal Pedraza, Raul Cuesta, and Eddie Olivares presented a jazz concert for the students. Expecting an audience of about thirty, dozens arrived to hear the rhythums and beat of great American jazz. From those humble beginnings, the idea of a major Texas Jazz festival was born, and down through the years, Corpus Christi has hosted the Texas Jazz Festival in one form or another. Jumping from the college to the Bayfront, various jazz festivals were staged down through the years. But in 1968 it became apparent that the Festival was a lasting event, and through the efforts of Wanda Gregory, the Texas Jazz Festival Society came into being as a non-profit corporation organized for civic and educational purposes. The goals of the society were simple: To promote and present the performance of live jazz as an American art form; to showcase local and area talent; to foster tourism in the City of Corpus Christi; to encourage and aid in the education of young jazz artists; and to promote and present the annual Texas Jazz Festival free of charge so that all citizens of Texas might enjoy the best American Jazz has to offer. In 1987 the Festival featured the great Ramsey Lewis trio, and continuous jazz was going on in three outside locations in the same area, plus on the Peoples Street T-Head, with a shuttle trolley running to and from the T-Head and the Coliseum to accommodate the growing crowds. That Festival enjoyed immense popularity, attracting about 17,000 festival goers. In 1988, through the efforts of Executive Director and Past President Bill Weed, a change in location occurred when the Festival moved to the beautiful new Watergarden of the Bayfront Plaza Convention Center. That year there were 24 jazz groups that performed, and the Festival has expanded to more groups since that time. In 1993 there were approximately 43 bands participating in the 33rd Annual Festival, including Beto y los Fairlanes and Plas Johnson. According to the Festival Web site, in 1999 Rick Sanchez was elected President of the TJFS and brought in a new board of directors to work with some of the past board members. Together they have taken the event to a new level. The festival was moved to Heritage Park in that same year because of flooding, and the move, say officials, proved to be a lasting one. Today, the Texas Jazz Festival uses three outdoor stages in the historic Heritage Park area and will host American jazz to 25,000-plus festival goers. This year's Jazz Fest will feature performances from the Del Mar Dixieland Jazz Band, Cat's Don't Sleep (San Antonio), Austin Jazz Workshop, Freddie Martinez, E. Olivares & Dixieland 7, Ritmo Caribe, Claudia Melton, Carolyn Blanchard Sextent of Houston, Kyle Turner, Texas Brass Band, B.C. And Soul Express, Tiburon, Paul ELizonda Big Band, Ed Olivares, Jr., Frontera Jazz Quartet, N Rumba, the Sound of Swing and many others. Don't miss the 50th Texas Jazz Festival in Corpus Christi's Historic Heritage Park, three days of great American Jazz on the Bayfront.