Javier Santiago Trio with Pawan Benjamin

media release: Javier’s 2025 “Warrior Energy Tour” will take his trio on the road for several dates through the West Coast and Midwest. The tour will span the month of May – commencing on April 30th at Townhouse in Los Angeles, then will continue in the following cities; San Francisco, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City and Seattle.

Pianist/composer Javier Santiago will be performing 2 shows at Madison’s premier jazz club, Cafe Coda. For this performance, as well as the other midwest dates on his 2025 tour, he will be joined by drummer, Corey Fonville (Kurt Elling, Butcher Brown, Christian Scott) and bassist, Zach Brown (Paquito D’Rivera, Willow Smith).

This special performance at Cafe Coda will feature special guest, saxophonist/composer and Madison native Pawan Benjamin.

Pianist, composer, and popular sideman Javier Santiago is one of the most promising voices in the international music scene today. An accomplished educator, arranger, and producer/beatmaker, Santiago has become a notable force in both the beat and hip-hop scenes as well as in the jazz world.

Minneapolis-born Santiago was exposed to a myriad of great music and talented musicians in his early years. Taking his inspiration and career endeavors to the next level, he furthered his path by relocating to New York City to attend The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music, then later moved out West, first to the Bay Area in 2017, and then to Los Angeles in 2021, which remains his home base. Santiago is an alumnus of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA and The Brubeck Institute Fellowship Program. He was a finalist in the American Jazz Pianist competition in 2015, a recipient of the 2016 McKnight Fellowship for Musicians, and was selected to participate in the 14th Annual Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in 2011.

Javier Santiago has had the distinguished opportunity to play with many celebrated musicians on today’s jazz scene including Herbie Hancock, Terrace Martin, Louis Cole, Alex Isley, Jonathan Kreisberg, Azar Lawrence, Theo Croker, Kenneth Whalum, Aja Monet, John Raymond, Sheila Jordan, and Yosvany Terry.

Santiago’s debut album, Phoenix (2018) on Ropeadope Records was named the “#1 Jazz Album of the Year” by Vinyl Me, Please. As he pursues his path as a solo artist, he describes his style as “my usual brand of lo-fi, psychedelic rock jazz fusion.” His self-produced project, “Warrior Energy,” released in December of 2024. The album features jazz greats Justin Brown, Gene Coye, and Benjamin Ring on drums, Sharada Shashidar on vocals, and Devin Daniels on saxophone. Javier plays all of the keyboards and synthesizers on the album, and this will also be his debut as a trumpet player.

Describing this new album, Santiago states, "Warrior Energy is about finding the passion to fight for what you believe in. When the world is crumbling, what is the legacy will you leave behind?”

To hear the 7-track album, see www.javiersantiago.bandcamp.com

“Warrior Energy” was released December 2024 (as an independent release) and is available on Bandcamp for purchase and on all streaming platforms; Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc. 

www.javiersantiagomusic.com 

Instagram: @javiersantiagomusic

www.pawanbenjamin.com

Tickets: $20 (online or at the door)