SAN ANTONIO — Jazz will take over Civic Park at Hemisfair next week for two days as one of San Antonio’s longest-running free music festivals returns with international stars, local musicians and rising performers.
The 43rd annual Jazz’SAlive is set for Sept. 25, from 4 to 11 p.m. and Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is free and the festival is open to all ages.
This year’s headliners include legendary trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis with the Uptown Jazz Orchestra.
Marsalis closes out Friday night at 9 p.m. A member of New Orleans’ famed Marsalis musical family, he is an NEA Jazz Master whose Uptown Jazz Orchestra combines the city’s traditional jazz sound with a contemporary big-band approach.
Friday’s lineup also includes GRAMMY-nominated drummer and producer Blaque Dynamite, also known as Mike Mitchell, at 5:30 p.m.; pianist Yuko Mabuchi at 6:40 p.m.; and the U.S. Air Force Band of the West’s jazz ensemble at 7:50 p.m. Mabuchi’s music mixes jazz with soul and contemporary influences, while Mitchell blends jazz with funk, hip-hop and experimental music.
Sandoval takes the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday as part of his 2026 world tour. The Cuban-American musician has won 10 GRAMMY Awards and received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Kennedy Center Honors. His music draws heavily from jazz and Afro-Cuban traditions as well as classical and big-band music.
Saturday’s lineup also features San Antonio smooth-jazz saxophonist BillyRay Sheppard at 5:30 p.m. and Mexico City-born vocalist Magos Herrera at 6:40 p.m. Herrera, now based in New York, combines contemporary jazz with Latin American and Ibero-American musical traditions and has released 12 albums.
Local students will also get their turn in the spotlight. Churchill High School’s River City Jazz Collective performs at 4 p.m. Saturday, followed later by the Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Combo at 7:50 p.m.
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