EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — This El Paso business owner had no plans to open a shop, but he’s still going strong decades later both as an entrepreneur and as a musician.
Jaime Olivas is the owner and president of Olivas Music, a local music shop that has been in business for 41 years.
Since opening the store, Olivas has expanded his business now with two locations — 1320 Zaragoza Rd. and 125 Thunderbird Dr.
Olivas Music store located at 1320 Zaragoza Rd. Photos taken by Jocelyn Flores/KTSM
Olivas Music is a one-stop shop for all of your musical needs, especially for students who are participating in band, mariachi, orchestra, choir and even the fine arts.
When Olivas was 11, his older cousin Frank De La Rosa was an inspiration for Olivas to pick up a saxophone, he said.
Now, 60 years later, Olivas still plays his saxophone for at least 10 to 20 minutes every day.
“I still play my saxophone. I’ve been playing for 64 years, but I’m getting better,” Olivas said.
De La Rosa was a bass player for “Queen of Jazz” Ella Fitzgerald for four years. He also played for other jazz stars such as Sarah Vaughan and Nat King Cole.
Olivas graduated from Burges High School in 1967 and went on to get his music education degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1972 and his masters from the North Texas State University (NTSU) in 1985.
At the beginning of his teaching career, Olivas was a band director at Canyon Middle School. Later, he was the head band director for Irvin High School.
After teaching, Olivas played with different bands and artists, such as Azúcar for 20 years and a two-night event with the Count Basie Orchestra.
Olivas said all El Paso school districts get most of their instruments from his store.
If there’s an instrument a child needs or wants, Olivas is sure to have it with a range of various woodwinds, strings, percussion and brass instruments, including pianos.
His business is providing roughly 13,000 to 16,000 new instruments, ready to be rented out by students from all the school districts in the Sun City.
When students receive an instrument from the school, they are on a rent-to-own plan, meaning that they pay money to Olivas Music to build credit and eventually pay off the instrument to be theirs.
Olivas Music prides itself on having quality instruments — that if kept in great condition, can last musicians a good amount of time.
Olivas believes that a good music education can bring the best out of students.
“Music is so great for our students here in El Paso. It’s really good. It teaches them a lot of life’s experiences and making correct decisions and making them good people,” Olivas said.
What makes Olvias Music different from other stores is not only the pride in quality instruments but also their instrument repair shop.
Olivas Music has five repair technicians who are knowledgeable in fixing and repairing different instruments.
“When you buy a car, you want to make sure you have a good repair shop for your car. Same thing with instruments. You want to make sure you have a good, reputable department for instrument repair,” Olivas said.
Despite juggling his business, Olivas also teaches students and performs with quartets.
On Friday nights throughout September, you can catch Olivas playing at Landry’s Seafood House at 6801 Gateway West Blvd.
He is currently teaching 10 students and over the years, he has produced over 30 Texas All-State Band players.
“We thank the people in El Paso and our music educators for the great support that they give us. We try to give back a lot to our customers and to our music education and fine arts department,” Olivas said.
For more on Olivas Music, click here. You can call the East Side location at (915) 858-6700 and the West Side location at (915) 833-0346.
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