Young Artist Profile: Javier Santiago, From Eggz to Brubeck to Pro Career
© 2010, Andrea Canter

I think I first met Javier Santiago when he was about 14 and the pianist with a teen quartet dubbed The Eggz. And over the next few years, I kept running into him—at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival with The Eggz, at another festival event with a group Second Nature, at the finals of the Jazz Piano Scholarship Competition sponsored by the Schubert Club and Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education, which he won in 2006. Javier was the pianist selected for the Foundation's first Dakota Combo in fall 2006, and the following spring, was tapped for the sole piano slot for the Brubeck Institute Fellowship program in Stockton, CA. After completing the two-year Brubeck program, he was accepted into the jazz program at the New School in Manhattan, where he is now completing his final year.

Javier Santiago performing at Jazz Central in Minneapolis in July 2010 (Photo © Andrea Canter)

The son of a popular area drummer (Mac Santiago) and vocalist (Laurie), and grandson of Latin percussionist Luis Santiago, perhaps it was inevitable that Javier would take music seriously. "I started playing piano around age 5," he recalls. "The first thing I learned was the chords to 'La Bamba,' the Richie Valens tune. It was a really standard I-IV-V progression and I just remember it being really fascinating how these chords moved through the song and how they supported the melody. From then on I was motivated not only to learn the piano but also to learn about music in general and be able to compose my own chord progressions and melodies. So I guess I could say, I was very serious about music early on in my life and I never lost that."

"Music was just one of things he took interest in and showed special talents," says dad, Mac "He was very advanced in most subjects and absorbed everything quickly. He told me at about 5 years of age that he wanted to play trumpet. So I told him 'learn piano and you'll be able to play anything well because you'll understand music.' He went for it." Young Javi "went for it" in a big way. "Learning how to play the piano was important because the piano became a medium for all my musical ideas and it became easier and easier to convey them as I got better at it."  And as for the trumpet, Mac recalls that he "ultimately learned trumpet, too, and violin and guitar and bass and anything else we had lying around. Even did some musical theater at about 8 years old."

Jazz came a bit later. "My first exposure to playing jazz was with my [piano] teacher, Rick Olson. He taught me how to play a rendition of the Miles Davis tune, 'Freddie Freeloader.' This was crucial because he essentially taught me the 12-bar blues, which is what this music comes from." Then came more formal jazz studies at the Ramsey International Fine Arts program in south Minneapolis. "I started studying jazz when I was in 5th grade. My elementary school band teacher Tom Wells started a summer program in which he coached small jazz ensembles. This was really an important part of learning how to play jazz because it was an intensive, everyday summer camp where we learned jazz standards and got to play with other people. It was after this point when I decided to take private lessons with jazz musicians instead of classical instructors." And those teachers included some of the top jazz pianists in the area—Mikkel Romstad, the late Bobby Peterson, Tanner Taylor, and Laura Caviani.

Javier topped the Schubert Club/Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education Piano Scholarship Competition in spring 2006. (Photo © Andrea Canter)

Javier has found inspiration from teachers, family, and his immediate environment. "I have to say the number one thing is my environment, meaning the people and places that surround me. This influences me more than anything else because it dictates how I feel at that moment and what is going on in my life at that time. So, it affects my music just as much as anything else." And he notes the influence of his early teachers and the music they presented to him. "All my teachers have also been strong influences. This includes recordings of the masters like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, etc. Before I even listened to jazz there was rock, R&B, and hip hop which are also a part of me, too."

Javi is quick to point to the influence of his musical family in supporting his talent. "Musically, my parents and mainly my dad have influenced me greatly because that's where I established my foundation." His dad adds, "We have always supported his passions and tried to create a musical environment at home, a place to play and people to play with. He practiced because he wanted to get better. Also, having experienced 'the biz' first hand, we have also been up front about the 'party' aspects of being in the entertainment biz and keeping it under control. Becoming a great player/composer is first....especially at these prices, e.g., lessons, college in NYC, gear, etc. We talk a lot about the remunerative aspects as well. Good and bad. We think he knows he may not get rich with money but he could have a unique experience.

This "reality check" was a useful part of Javi's music education and career decision. "Growing up with professional musicians in my family really influenced my decision to become one," he says. "They showed me how horrible the life of a musician can really be (haha, just kidding), but they showed me what it was like to live that life. They never were on the road or touring while I was growing up, but I would go to my dad's gigs and see how they would operate. It sort of gave me a head start to knowing what to expect in the music business. This encouraged me to pursue my career and made it much easier for me."

On summer break, Javier at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis with Daniel Duke and Miguel Hurtado (Photo © Andrea Canter)

For an artist barely in his 20s, Javier has already experienced a wide variety of educational and performance opportunities, in and outside of school. Notes Mac, “Performing in a large ensemble [middle and high school] was good (especially for his trumpet playing),but most of his growth was through his private teachers ,small group rehearsals, recordings and gigs he did at home, studio and in the community.”  “The Dakota Combo was a good experience,” says Javi. “I had already been playing in several other combos the years before that and had already been developing my own style and compositions.” The Brubeck Institute experience has been a highlight, and, at least for his family, somewhat of a surprise. “We knew he was more advanced than most his age, but that quantified it,” says Mac. “The Brubeck Institute was a great experience because it really did help prepare me for the music business and it helped develop my own musical identity as well,” says Javi. “I got to play with great musicians practically every day and we got to develop rapidly as a band and also individually. I got to tour and play high profile gigs that helped shape my professionalism. In other words, I learned to how to be punctual, professional, and presentable. Also, studying with the guest artists that came in was a good experience in itself. They got to share their wisdom with us and in a way help us prepare for the next phase in our careers by telling us what they went through.”

And Brubeck was good preparation for the next phase of Javi’s jazz education, the New School in Manhattan, where he is completing his undergraduate degree. “The New School has really exposed me to the real world of being a musician. Not only is it a potential networking tool with all the students and staff there, but it is also a model of what the professional world is like. New York City is a huge hub for music and especially jazz, so it is eye-opening to see all of the opportunities that are there for us students. I still get to meet and be among some of the top musicians in the world there. Some of my teachers from the past year were Edward Simon, Aaron Parks, Kevin Hays, Jane Ira Bloom, and Billy Harper. Studying with these people in particular, through private lessons and ensemble instruction, have really helped further my compositional and performance abilities.” Recently, Javi has contributed to opportunities for other students, coming home in the summer to assist with the Twin Cities Youth Jazz Camp and Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth jazz camp.

Finding tunes on his I-Pod, Javier consults with one of his keyboard students at the Twin Cities Youth Jazz Camp (Photo © Andrea Canter)

And as his experience and education have expanded, so have Javi’s influences, even the way he absorbs music. “Nowadays, I am constantly being bombarded with music,” he says. “I have more music on my computer than I will ever listen to in my lifetime. So, I really miss out on just being able to put on a record and listen to it the whole way through and get addicted to it like I used to. As a result of this, I don't really know what I'm listening to half the time. But, there are so many contemporary musicians, mainly younger guys, that really influence me. These would be people like Walter Smith III, Ambrose Akinmusire, Gerald Clayton, Aaron Parks. However, I really want to focus on going into the past. Two words: Art Tatum.”

And for the young piano students who have worked with him at summer jazz camps, focusing on going into the future, two words: Javier Santiago.

Special thanks to Mac, Laurie and Luis Santiago, and of course Javier, for participating in interviews for this article.