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Vic Warren

About Me

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because I love the spontaneity with discipline it demands. I was first exposed to jazz during high school in the 1950s, my uncle was the first to play jazz for me. My wife and I have several friends who are musicians, including Gerry Schroeder and Janis Mann. The best show I ever attended was The Duke Ellington Sacred Concert at Grace Cathedral in 1965, followed by the performance of Charles Mingus' Epitaph at Disney Hall in LA about five years ago. The first jazz record I bought was Dave Brubeck's Gone With The Wind. My advice to new listeners: listen to everything, and listen to the radio. You can learn a lot from the disc jockeys. One of my best friends is Helen Borgers of Long Beach's KKJZ. But mainly go out to hear live jazz. Support the music. A side note: One of my greatest experiences was in 1962 during the Seattle World's Fair. I was working for some producers who were hosting a concert by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This was during the frenzy created by Time Out and Take Five. I got to be the quartet's guide and driver at the world's fair.