Rene Adrian Sandoval Sr.

Mr. Sandoval is survived by the love of his life, wife of 66 years, Minerva Rodriguez Sandoval; five children, Bridget (Ruben) Maldonado, Vilma (Robert) Molina, Patty (Kevin) Sralla, Sylvia (Henry) Perez and Rene Sandoval Jr. (Martin Ybarra); and 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Angie (Freddy) Longoria, infant grandson, Rene Guerra III, brothers Federico R. Sandoval Sr., Audomaro E. Sandoval Sr., Artemio Sandoval and Leonel Sandoval; and sisters Soila (Richard) Rodriguez, Bridget Sandoval and Aurora (Carlos) Contreras.

Mr. Sandoval was born in Pharr, Tex., on January 22, 1936 to the late Federico and Anita Sandoval. The youngest of eight children, Mr. Sandoval attended schools in Pharr and graduated from PSJA High school in 1954. His formal music education started at home through the careful teaching of his mother, Anita, who taught him how to play the piano. Her love of music and the arts ignited a similar admiration in young Rene. He started playing the clarinet in grade school and was so talented that he was named to the high school senior band as a seventh-grader. He was one of only two band members at PSJA High who was a member for six years. He also loved sports and played basketball and football for PSJA High School, and served as junior class vice-president. But it was always about music.

At the age of 13, Mr. Sandoval began playing saxophone professionally with the band, Mario Saenz Y Los Gavilanes, in dance halls throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Since then, the gifted young musician played with a variety of musical acts, all at the beginning of what is now called Tejano music. He played with artists such as Leonel Alba, the Eugenio Gutierrez Orchestra and performed on a one-hour weekly radio show on KURV-AM with Pedro Suarez. During the mid-1950s, Mr. Sandoval joined the first Tejano TV show called “Fiesta Latina” on KRGV-TV Channel 5, where he fronted an eight-piece big band, performing the ballroom standards of the day. It was during this experience that Mr. Sandoval met his future wife, singer Minerva Rodriguez, of Weslaco. Though he enjoyed playing the music of the Valley, his first real love was jazz.

Listening to the greats of the day, Mr. Sandoval fell in love with the bebop sounds of jazz great Cannonball Adderley. After getting married, Mr. Sandoval moved his young family to Houston in 1955, where he pursued the new sound of Latin-style jazz. He performed at many of Houston’s top-notch clubs with groups such as Tommy Flores, Alonso Y Los Sus Rancheros and the Eloy Perez Orchestra. Different celebrities such as Burt Reynolds, band leader Les Brown, Liza Minnelli, and Betty Grable often showed up to enjoy Mr. Sandoval’s group at the clubs in Houston.

In 1961, Mr. Sandoval appeared at the first Texas Jazz Festival in Corpus Christi, Texas, fronting his own band, “The Houstonians,” he established himself as a leader in the burgeoning field of Texas jazz. In the first 50 years of the annual event, Mr. Sandoval missed only one jazz festival. His last performance at the festival was in 2013, where he played with some of his oldest and best musician friends, Luis Gasca and Joe Gallardo. Subsequently, he has been officially designated as one of the founders of the annual event.

Throughout the 1960s, Mr. Sandoval performed with such musical icons as the group called The Master Sounds, and such other Houston jazz greats as Kido Zapata, Johnny Castillo, Lucio Sanchez and Ricky Garcia. In 1966, he joined The Jokers, a nationally known group based in Houston that opened for Rock ‘n’ Roll shows, featuring artists like Glen Campbell, The Byrds, Ray Stevens and The Shangri-Las. His Houston experience culminated in a stint at The Bastille Club, where he shared the stage with his jazz idols, including Cannonball Adderley, Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Hayes.

In 1970, he moved his family back to the Rio Grande Valley and began traveling with the group, The Diamonds, who had No. 1 hits such as “Little Darling” and “The Stroll.” He toured all over the United States, including a 10-month stint at The Playboy Clubs. But life on the road took its toll on Mr. Sandoval and his growing family. In 1973, Mr. Sandoval returned to his roots in the Rio Grande Valley, where he established a new band, The Rene Sandoval Quartet, at the Papillon Club in McAllen with local musicians Henry Cantu, Jimmy Herrera, Bob Henry and Raul Fong. The club became a mecca for touring Tejano groups and a renowned forum for jam sessions with famous Tejano and jazz artists.

In 1982, Mr. Sandoval moved the group to Austin and started performing at Santiago’s Club on Sixth Street. On any given night, one could see Little Joe and Johnny Hernandez, The Ramos Brothers and other Tejano and jazz musicians sitting in with the group. A year later, Mr. Sandoval returned to McAllen and formed the legendary Pajaros Locos Band. Then, in 1987, he began a long association with The Embassy Suites (now Doubletree Suites) where he played for almost 30 years with his quartet every Friday and Saturday nights. He performed with great local musicians such as Joe Moreno, Wally Tucker, Raul Fong, Grace Valdez, Jim Cain and Javier Michel. A consummate hard worker, Mr. Sandoval has always worked at least two jobs to support his family, while never abandoning his love for music and the art of live performance.

He was a train mechanic for Southern Pacific Railroads in the late 1950s and 1960s, worked as a case worker with the A.C.C.E.D.C., a former federal jobs program, in the 1970s. In the 1980s, he worked at KIWW-AM has a salesman, and then worked for two decades as a project specialist for Hidalgo County’s Head Start program until his retirement in 2011. He loved his job because his work meant that he was helping those in most need.

Mr. Sandoval also played innumerable weddings and other special events throughout the Valley. He also volunteered his talents whenever he could. He would play the national anthem every year for the Texas Special Olympics track and field event, often slowing down for the students to complete a lap around the track.

Over the years, Sandoval’s jazz talents and mastery of his instrument have attracted many established musicians and developing artists to his side. Many still seek him out when in the area. In 2004, his talents were memorialized on The Tejano Walk of Fame in Edinburg, Texas. Then, two years later, he and his wife, Minerva, a singer, and pianist in her own right, were formally inducted into the Tejano Hall of Fame in Alice, Texas. Mr. Sandoval also was inducted into the BorderFest Rio Grande Valley Walk of Fame in 2011 and was honored by the State of Texas in 2011 with a proclamation and flag for his musical contributions to the state.

In his later years, Mr. Sandoval spent his time with his wife, visiting his children and grandchildren, listening to jazz recordings, and making his famous barbecue. He would also meet every couple of weeks with his musician friends and listen to jazz recordings and talk about old times.

He will be greatly missed most by his family, all who adored him. Though he worked two jobs most of his life, Mr. Sandoval attended school activities, was always there for emergencies and the births of grandchildren, and he always insisted that we support each other as a family. His generosity had no bounds, and all his children and grandchildren were blessed to grow up with the sounds of great music in their ears provided by a gentle, witty and wise father.

As a result, Mr. Sandoval’s musical legacy continues in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, many of whom play in their own bands or have become established singers and performers.

His “fathering” also extended to the many fledging musicians, all over the Rio Grande Valley now, who gathered at the Embassy Suites, or any other place Mr. Sandoval was playing to absorb his musical expertise and listen to his entertaining stories about his life as a musician. Many of these aspiring musicians have gone on to lead professional careers of their own, from award-winning band directors to professional studio musicians.

In Mr. Sandoval’s death, his family and the Rio Grande Valley musical community has lost a rare treasure.

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Services for Mr. Sandoval include: |

Visitation – from 3-9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022 at Funeraria Del Angel, 3611 N Taylor Rd, Mission, TX 78573.

Rosary Recitation – 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022 at same location.

Funeral Mass – 12 noon Friday, Feb. 11, 2022 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 2201 Martin Ave, McAllen, TX 78504.

Burial – 1 p.m. Friday, 11, 2022 at Valley Memorial Gardens, 3601-3611 N Taylor Rd, Mission, TX 78573.

Memorial Gathering – immediately after the burial at Double Tree Suites, 1800 S 2nd St, McAllen, TX 78503.

Services will be live streamed on: https://www.facebook.com/FDAValleyMemorial/

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.funerariadelangelmission.com for the Sandoval family.