Born: February 7, 1978 Primary Instrument: Saxophone
Javier was born in Madrid in 1978. He began to study clarinet, piano, and solfege at the age of 6. In 1996 he graduated from the Joaquin Rodrigo Conservatory of Valencia, Spain with a degree in clarinet studies. In that same year he began to study jazz music, attending various jazz seminars in Spain with teachers such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Chris Cheek and Perico Sambeat.
In 1997 he received a scholarship from the A.I.E (Association of performers in Spain) to study music. He was one of three outstanding musicians chosen for this prestigious award. In addition, Javier was awarded a scholarship from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1998 he enrolled at the Berklee College. There, he studied with George Garzone, Frank Tiberi, Greg Hopkins, and David johnson, among others. He also attended workshops with musicians such as Jerry Bergonzi, Mark Turner, Curtis Fuller, Bob Mintzer and Tommy Smith. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in the fall of 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree of Music majoring in Performance.
From 1998 until 2000, he played with legendary jazz drummer Bob Moses. With Bob Moses he got the chance to play with Luciana Souza, Datu Mandipensa, and Don Conoscenti.
Since then, Javier has performed, toured, and/or recorded with drummer Jorge Rossy, bassist Chris Higgins, trombonist Jeff Galindo, Paco de Lucia's percussionist Rubem Damtas, Chip Taylor (renowned songwriter who penned such hits as “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning”). Recently, he is playing with a new quartet featuring Lionel Loueke on guitar, Edwin Livingston on bass and Brannen Temple on drums. Javier currently resides in New York City.
