SAN ANTONIO \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This year’s headliners include legendary trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis with the Uptown Jazz Orchestra.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n