This week Riverwalk Jazz presents a tribute to the Texas musical legacy of the Caceres family. The show is distributed nationwide in the US by Public Radio International and worldwide on Sirius/XM as well as streamed on-demand from the Riverwalk Jazz website.
Hot jazz has always found a home in San Antonio. In the 1930s, Emilio and Ernie Caceres were its hottest exports. New York critics praised the brothers' 1937 Victor recordings with Emilio swinging hard on violin. They admired Ernie's clarinet style, calling it “assertive and poignant" and “as smooth as Benny Goodman."
Emilio Caceres, the older of the two siblings, led an influential swing orchestra in the Southwest, but his trio earned them all national acclaim. The brothers' live nationwide appearances in 1937 on Benny Goodman's popular radio series—Camel Caravan —created a sensation and made them jazz stars. The instrumental blend of Emilio's driving jazz violin with Ernie's full-bodied clarinet was something new, at just the right time. The critics called their sound “astonishing" and “splendid."
Emilio got the recognition he deserved in New York City and then went back home to make music in Texas. Refusing all offers of fame and fortune out east, Emilio returned to San Antonio where he led his own big band. From his home base, Emilio continued to make hit records for the Victor and Decca labels. In 1937 he recorded one of his biggest hits—a tune he wrote and recorded with his brother Ernie, “Gigue in G."
Exposure to the New York jazz scene had the opposite effect on Emilio's brother Ernie, who loved it all and couldn't get enough of the late night hours. Ernie loved the buzz of living in the jazz world in New York City at the height of the Swing Era. He linked up with Bobby Hackett, joined Jack Teagarden, and then switched to the Glenn Miller Orchestra. After stints with Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, Ernie's burly baritone saxophone sound became a mainstay at Nick's in the Village and on Eddie Condon's Town Hall broadcasts.
Jim Cullum Jr. says, “My Dad, Jim Sr., became fast friends with Ernie Caceres when he came back to live in San Antonio in the '60s. Besides being a great player, Ernie was a fabulous arranger, and he wrote a number of charts for our band."
Ernie established himself as a fixture on the jazz scene in his years with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. During this time, he made it into the top ten “Favorite Jazz Soloists" category in the annual Down Beat poll, outranking Bobby Hackett, Coleman Hawkins and Gene Krupa. In 1949 he won a place on the Metronome All-Star Band. Ernie later recorded with Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.
In an encore presentation, our show this week features a cousin of the Caceres brothers, the late Henry Cuesta, and another member of the Caceres family, the Houston-based alto saxophonist David Caceres, a grandson of Emilio. David says, “When I play, people that recognize the name will approach me and ask if I'm related to Emilio or Ernie. When I say that I am they begin to tell me what great musicians they were and how fortunate I am to be a part of the Caceres family."
Hot jazz has always found a home in San Antonio. In the 1930s, Emilio and Ernie Caceres were its hottest exports. New York critics praised the brothers' 1937 Victor recordings with Emilio swinging hard on violin. They admired Ernie's clarinet style, calling it “assertive and poignant" and “as smooth as Benny Goodman."
Emilio Caceres, the older of the two siblings, led an influential swing orchestra in the Southwest, but his trio earned them all national acclaim. The brothers' live nationwide appearances in 1937 on Benny Goodman's popular radio series—Camel Caravan —created a sensation and made them jazz stars. The instrumental blend of Emilio's driving jazz violin with Ernie's full-bodied clarinet was something new, at just the right time. The critics called their sound “astonishing" and “splendid."
Emilio got the recognition he deserved in New York City and then went back home to make music in Texas. Refusing all offers of fame and fortune out east, Emilio returned to San Antonio where he led his own big band. From his home base, Emilio continued to make hit records for the Victor and Decca labels. In 1937 he recorded one of his biggest hits—a tune he wrote and recorded with his brother Ernie, “Gigue in G."
Exposure to the New York jazz scene had the opposite effect on Emilio's brother Ernie, who loved it all and couldn't get enough of the late night hours. Ernie loved the buzz of living in the jazz world in New York City at the height of the Swing Era. He linked up with Bobby Hackett, joined Jack Teagarden, and then switched to the Glenn Miller Orchestra. After stints with Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, Ernie's burly baritone saxophone sound became a mainstay at Nick's in the Village and on Eddie Condon's Town Hall broadcasts.
Jim Cullum Jr. says, “My Dad, Jim Sr., became fast friends with Ernie Caceres when he came back to live in San Antonio in the '60s. Besides being a great player, Ernie was a fabulous arranger, and he wrote a number of charts for our band."
Ernie established himself as a fixture on the jazz scene in his years with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. During this time, he made it into the top ten “Favorite Jazz Soloists" category in the annual Down Beat poll, outranking Bobby Hackett, Coleman Hawkins and Gene Krupa. In 1949 he won a place on the Metronome All-Star Band. Ernie later recorded with Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.
In an encore presentation, our show this week features a cousin of the Caceres brothers, the late Henry Cuesta, and another member of the Caceres family, the Houston-based alto saxophonist David Caceres, a grandson of Emilio. David says, “When I play, people that recognize the name will approach me and ask if I'm related to Emilio or Ernie. When I say that I am they begin to tell me what great musicians they were and how fortunate I am to be a part of the Caceres family."
