Brent “Doc” Watkins wasn’t always known for his San Antonio swing. Although his Pearl lounge, Jazz, TX, has been filled with honking trumpets and skittering drums for 10 years, he spent his youth devoted to classical.
That journey from concert hall to bandstand is now chronicled in a new book: Jazz, TX: A Love Letter to Live Music, Community, and the Little Club That Could. Watkins first learned to play when his mother and stepfather enrolled him in piano lessons at seven years old. He soon fell in love with classical music, and sought to make a living from it well into his 20s.
Then, Watkins had an epiphany.
“I got my bachelor's, master's, and doctorate in classical piano, and then I realized that actually wasn't what I wanted to do,” Watkins explains. “I wanted to play music every night, and the obvious way to do that was to get back into jazz, which I had learned as a kid because of my [birth] father.”“
I think a lot of people thought that I had lost my mind, but it's what I wanted to do, and it ended up being the right thing,” he says.
Watkins found his way to San Antonio in the mid-2000s, making a name in the jazz scene with performances at the Pearl Farmers Market and Bohanan’s Prime Steaks and Seafood. At the time, The Landing, Jim Cullum’s iconic River Walk club, was one of the few spots where locals could enjoy live jazz.
A standing ovation at Jazz, TX.Jazz, TX/ facebook
When the Landing shuttered, Watkins started dreaming of a way to revive the spirit of swing. Still, even as friends, fans, and others pushed Watkins to open his own venue, he hesitated.
“I did resist it for a few years, actually,” recalls Watkins. “There were investors and landlords and architects that came to me and said, ‘You should open up your own club. You should really do this.’”
“And I said, ‘No, I'm not interested.’ I knew how hard it would be. My father's career in music ended sadly. He didn't have the success that he wanted, and I watched his struggle with the music world, and I was aware of how difficult it is.”
Watkins finally relented in the mid-2010s and set out to launch a new dining and entertainment concept that placed jazz front and center. He explored a few prospects, including the space that eventually became Hotel Emma’s Larder.
Then, Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury, the local billionaire behind the Pearl Brewery complex, had an idea. He proposed building a basement under The Food Hall at the Bottling Department.
“Digging a hole in the ground and building a basement – that's massive props to Kit Goldsbury,” Watkins said. “People in [real estate] are not known for their imagination, but Kit Goldsbury is an exception.”
Watkins launched Jazz, TX on August 23, 2016. The club now offers seven live shows a week in an atmosphere that harkens back to the metropolitan supper clubs of the ‘40s and ‘50s.
Jazz, TX owner "Doc" Watkins and his orchestra perform at Pearl.Photo courtesy of Jazz, TX
A few years back, people around Watkins began suggesting that he write a memoir about his life, career, and experience building a jazz club from the ground up. As with Jazz, TX itself, he initially resisted the idea.
“But then I thought, you know, if I don't write this book now, I don't know that I ever will because we're going to expand. This thing's going to grow,” he says. “If we're not careful, we’re going to forget who we are and why we started this thing to begin with.”
Naturally, the memoir includes business lessons, but it’s not just a template on how to operate a successful club. Watkins also included anecdotes from the people who make the space alive.
“Musicians have the best stories, better than stand-up comedians or actors,” he says. “But I think it’s particularly true for jazz musicians because we're a strange breed.”
Meg Bodi is a frequent performer at Jazz, TX.Photo courtesy of Jazz, TX
Watkins will have plenty more stories to collect as he expands his jazz empire. He opened Doc’s Jazz Club in Houston in November 2025, revitalizing a nearly century-old movie theater in the Montrose neighborhood. And he now runs TurnTable, a ticketing and marketing software company specifically created for jazz clubs. Doc’s Chicago is on the docket next.
All of it is about keeping the spirit of jazz alive. Watkins understands that the timeless genre is now niche.
“The landscape of jazz in San Antonio right now is what we make it. I think if Jazz, TX were to go away, I think it would be incredibly detrimental. I don't know if there's anybody that would replace us,” Watkins says. “I think we are kind of a beacon for this music in our community, but I also think that that can change on a dime.”
While Jazz, TX is a business, it's also a way to build community over freewheeling piano solos and playful call-and-response horns.
“Jazz is something that people express. It’s something that people participate in, that people do. You can have a city that has never seen or heard about jazz, but you show up with a jazz band, and now you've got jazz,” Watkins explains.
“But we're also always this close from losing it. If we don't fight for it, it will go away,” he adds. “We have to do it every day. As long as we're doing it every day, it's going to be alive and healthy.”
