San Jose Jazz Festival founder Bruce Labadie to retire, take final bow after 36 yearsMusic fans gathered for the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, a tradition that has grown from a single stage in 1990 to an event featuring eight stages. SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Music fans gathered in downtown San Jose for the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, a tradition that has grown from a single stage in 1990 to an event featuring eight stages and 80 acts. Let's have a jazz festival," Labadie chuckled. A San Jose native, Vela has overseen production for the festival for the past five years. "It's a super great privilege to be the steward of something that has been, built so well by Bruce Labadie and San Jose Jazz as an organization in San Jose, as a community," Vela said.