The Sun Never Sets on Jazz
By Novasoul
The front facade of River Sun Jazz Club
Despite a growing, youthful population, and rapid downtown urban development seeking to position the city as a megalopolis amongst its peers — Dallas, Houston, and our forever sworn taco frenemy, Austin — San Antonio's jazz music offerings are slim. Yet, something very interesting has been playing out in our jazz scene at the moment ...
Earlier this year, on a night off from deejaying, I finally made the journey to River Sun Jazz Club after months of FOMO from viewing friends' social media posts of the vibey jazz bar. What I experienced that evening was a delight for my ears and my eyes! I was treated to an exuberant performance by Jamail Chachere with his group, Jamail & Friends, as he effortlessly switched between electric bass and synthesizer keyboard playing original music that is better felt than described. Still, there were definitely elements of Stanley Clarke mixed with Herbie Hancock, as well as composition renditions from The Legend of Zelda! Truly jazz fusion for the 21st century.
As I sat absorbing the brassy melodies of the saxophone, the crunchy rhythm of the drums, and funky bass lines, I couldn't help but notice that the majority of friendly faces gathered were in their early to mid twenties, and completely engaged — ahem, locked in! It was an inspiring experience; I felt confident that jazz in San Antonio is alive and thriving!
Without sounding like an ageist (I am a spritely forty-whatever-year-old, after all), when I previously frequented local jazz clubs, my expectation was to be immersed among people my age and older. I often wondered: if that trend continues and my generation "ages out," what would happen to jazz music if it doesn't attract younger musicians, and consequently fails to appeal to younger audiences? Case in point, San Antonio's Philharmonic has recently been pushed out of its current home, the Scottish Rite Auditorium, just three years after the San Antonio Symphony dissolved due to financial instability. As a result, San Antonio is now the largest U.S. city without a major orchestra. Outside of discussing our need to improve public education in the arts to appreciate orchestral music, I wondered, 'What is River Sun Jazz Club doing differently to keep music programming fresh and attract youthful talent and attendees?' And in what ways are our music and artist communities fostering and encouraging the spread of important music like jazz toward future generations?
I reached out to River Sun Jazz Club co-owner and recording jazz artist Anthony Thomas Martinez, as well as Jamail Chachere, one of the younger performers who has been part of several River Sun's live engagements, to hear their experiences.
THE OTHER SIDE OF JAZZ
River Sun co-owner and jazz artist Anthony Thomas Martinez; Photo courtesy Anthony Thomas Martinez
As soon as we get into the history of jazz in San Antonio, Anthony proclaims his passion. "My purpose stems from being that kid in San Antonio that loves jazz … and growing up here, but not having access to opportunities for it."
Anthony recalls the personal hurdles he endured to learn and practice jazz while attending John Jay High School, which, at the time, had no formal curriculum for it. He had to arrive at school extra early and stay late after classes to practice since it wasn't part of the schedule. Motivated by a couple of his music teachers who became his mentors, and desiring to fulfill his father's dreams, Anthony pushed himself to seek out, compete in, and ultimately receive recognition in state and national jazz competitions to elevate his saxophone skills. These efforts reflect Anthony's formula for success, adopted to this day: "persistence, grit, just wanting to push myself as an artist, musician, businessman, and maintaining a curiosity for growth."
Before earning a degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Anthony's entrepreneurial spirit already got the best of him, as he committed himself full-time to his independent record label, Black Note Records, which later evolved into the artist studio and gallery space Black Note Gallery. He immediately stamped his unique sound, combining his jazz compositions with hip-hop beats, blues chords, soul, and funk. He took on producing, marketing, developing artists, audio engineering, and selling mixtapes! Anthony remarks that his goal was the same then as it is today, "to feed jazz to a younger audience."
In 2021, Anthony established The Jazz Standard, his booking and promotional entertainment agency, which places jazz musicians in local venues, restaurants, and hotels seeking live jazz performances. He curates music programming for On The Bend Oyster Bar & Lounge — formerly The Landing on the River Walk, once operated by the late great jazz luminary Jim Cullum, Jr. For Anthony, it has been a privilege to help revitalize the iconic location with jazz, paying respect to a legend like Cullum, whom he calls part of San Antonio's "jazz elders."
"I just want to continue paying respect and homage to our jazz elders while still contributing to providing opportunities that I am grateful to have been given at that site," says Anthony.
Continuing our conversation about music trends, technology, AI, and our current social climate, Anthony breaks it down this way, "look, jazz is often regarded as the highest form of musical expression an individual can chase after. The music represents and carries pieces of history; the past, the future, and most importantly, the present! And when you use that music as a vehicle, as a reflection of current times, social and political challenges to express pain, joy, love, happiness, all the human emotions ... The music itself embodies the full human experience. If we are looking at AI to generate art for us, it cannot encompass all these things. But as a tool to grow and practice, or analyze, then yeah, AI is a great tool."
Anthony's penchant for music programming and diverse community relationships eventually led him to a newly revamped cocktail bar along Avenue B. He was tasked with developing a complementary music identity. For his first night, Anthony recalls, "the moment was serendipitous, because I just talked to my friend Javi [LA recording artist Javier Santiago] who asked if I knew of places he can play in San Antonio… so yes, he was our first artist to open for us!”
With Javier Santiago's compositions of jazz piano, Latin percussion, hip-hop beats, and electronic textures, it was the perfect introduction to River Sun's soundscape that Anthony proudly promotes as its slogan: "the other side of jazz."
By extending the sonic palette outside of the traditions of jazz rhythms and structures, Anthony states, "I want to bring balance to our jazz scene. There are so many opportunities to hear traditional and smooth jazz, which is also part of our program. But I also want artists to not be afraid to express themselves how they want. This is your canvas!"
Travis Davis (piano), Ed Sherry (trumpet), Aaron walker (drums), Anthony Thomas Martinez, and Doug Bennet (bass) perform on stage at River Sun Jazz Club; Photo courtesy River Sun
GO DOWN TO THE RIVER SUN
Just as the nature of jazz is fluid and ever-evolving, it seems fitting for it to be further explored at the appropriately named River Sun Jazz Club, located in San Antonio's downtown Museum Reach. Within a year after the successful opening night featuring Anthony's music programming, he became a business partner of operations.
As you walk into the intimate, dimly lit space, you are greeted by vivid psychedelic art in midnight blue, purple, and aqua, depicting a swirling San Antonio River. The walls seem to come alive from the flowing hair of a central ‘mother earth’ character with each slow, pulsing color transition from the architectural colored lights. The cosmic mural painted by Jag Wired Art extends the entire space with sacred alchemy symbols, glittering in the golden-adorned hanging lights and translucent interior glass blocks.
Once the performers hit the stage, you are visually prepared to become a receiver in comfortable, but limited, lounge seating. Purchasing tickets before the shows guarantees your reserved area.
Anthony says the art was commissioned by his business partner before he arrived, but it reminded him of his former art studio years earlier. He is especially proud of his entire team at River Sun and credits his General Manager, Randy Bajas, “who is as solid as can be, crafting a special cocktail menu and putting just as much love and detail into our bar that I put into our music.”
River Sun Jazz Club features live performances Thursday through Sunday evenings. On Thursdays, minors may attend (with ticket purchases). And on Sundays, Anthony has created something special.
THE SUNDAY JAM: BUILDING A COMMUNITY
An essential element of River Sun's music programming is its dedicated jam session on Sundays and inclusion of young adults (ages 18 and up). "Because there are limited outlets, that's another reason I put emphasis on 'The Jam,' [and] that's why I allow high school students to participate as long as they are with a parental guardian," explains Anthony.
He elaborates, "The Sunday Jam is a very intentional jam. I wanted to create open sessions that were not chaotic; more organized, professional, nurturing, and encouraging — where young and aspiring musicians can come together in a positive space." In this way, it differs from open mics for hobbyists and is aimed at proactive, motivated musicians in the community who want to build their skills and network with others.
Multi-instrumentalist and Jazz Fusion artist Jamail Chachere; Photo courtesy Jamail Chachere
Recounting how he earned his first featured performance at the River Sun, Jamail Chachere credits Anthony for encouraging him to attend these sessions.
Jamail is a multi-instrumentalist who primarily composes for electronic jazz fusion and video game soundtracks. One of his early inspirations in middle school was the video game Final Fantasy XIII, "that was the first time I heard the serious mixture between orchestral music and electronic dance music and how to seamlessly blend the two to work in a very unique context," he expresses with awe. By high school, he was experimenting with creating electronic and classical music at home with Reaper audio production software. While attending UTSA, he founded his first musical groups — Miramé, and later Xenobia, before his current evolving project, Jamail & Friends. One of his influences is the multi-genre Los Angeles bassist Thundercat. "The songs he writes [lyrically] make no sense … It taught me I can also stop being so protective of the ideas in my head and just do it." Additionally, Jamail credits Japanese anime with sparking inspiration as they are "unabashedly maximum creativity stories… the pinnacle of mixed media."
Social media has been a significant part of the 28-year-old Jamail; he often posts live practice sessions and occasionally shares music theory lessons from his home studio on Instagram Reels. Both he and Anthony agree that social media has been a contributing factor in exposing jazz to younger, enthusiastic audiences.
Jamail first met Anthony during Jazz'SAlive in 2023, when they shared the main stage, and later as a keyboardist, with multiple groups booked at River Sun. Eventually, Anthony encouraged Jamail to perform his original music as a feature, but Jamail was reluctant, saying to Anthony, "You know what I do … it's crazy insanity. Is this what you want!?" Anthony replied, "I want all expressions of the jazz diaspora here."
Anthony's invitational attitude enables access to thoughtful practice, serving as a bridge between academia and professional gigging. More importantly, by nurturing younger artists, the 'Sunday Jam' sessions function as a developmental stage for them to freely experiment with their unique sounds and techniques while surrounded by like-minded individuals. Jam sessions like these build community and, historically, have served as transitional spaces for fresh ideas and movements that expand the language of jazz.
Anthony expresses his awareness of his role: "It's important to keep the exposure going because before, jazz was considered older music for older audiences. But now, younger people are becoming fans through social media and our Thursday and Sunday nights. That's why it's important that I keep this alive. It creates the next generation, that's how the scene and the sound evolve."
Thanks to the efforts of artists like Anthony Thomas Martinez and his team at River Sun Jazz Club, San Antonio has seen a resurgence in jazz nightlife. By enabling younger artists waiting to carve out their original niche, jazz fusion compositions like Jamail, the jazz universe expands. Using social media to promote musicianship and teaching has also attracted younger adults. Combine this with our human desire to be connected beyond our digital devices, attending live jazz performances fulfills our souls with a purpose of community and imagination IRL. ■
River Sun Jazz Club is located at 1011 Avenue B, 78215
IG: @riversunsa
