Listen to Javier:

Body and Soul

Neighborhood: Jackson Heights, Queens

Ages taught: age 8-adult

Levels taught: beg-adv

Secondary instruments taught: piano

Javier Arau is an internationally acclaimed saxophonist and composer and a Grammy®-nominee for the 2024 Grammy® Educator award. A two-time cover artist in Saxophone Journal, he has received four Down Beat Magazine Awards for performance, composition, and arranging, and has received national awards and recognition from ASCAP, BMI, and MENC, among others. An active composer in New York City, his compositions have been played by Benny Golson, David Garibaldi, the Berkeley Symphony (Kent Nagano, dir.), and many more. Was a finalist for the BMI Charlie Parker Composition Prize and the IAJE/ASCAP Gil Evans Fellowship. Javier studied composition with Bob Brookmeyer and theory with George Russell. An innovator in the field of jazz education, Javier’s research and development has been recognized by leading music institutions worldwide. He has taught at New England Conservatory of Music and Lawrence University and is the founder of New York Jazz Academy®. Javier is the author of several influential music texts and articles, and he has been published by Jazz Educators Journal, UNC Jazz Press, and Dorn Publications. He has taught jazz for over 30 years. For more about Javier, visit www.JavierArau.com.