Hello reader! I recently caught up with Chris Sclafani, a familiar face in Richmond’s music scene, to chat about his new stage name, Javi Aguilera, and his latest musical project. Chris is known for his saxophone skills and involvement in various local bands, but he’s now stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist.
Gabriel Santamaria: All right, we’re live. How you doing, Chris?
Chris Sclafani (Javi Aguilar): Doing all right, doing all right.
GS: Cool, man. So, you’ve got a new video and song out. But before we get into that, let’s start from the beginning. You’re one of the premier sax players in town. When did you start playing?
CS: Let’s see… I started playing saxophone the summer before my freshman year of high school. I remember I had just gotten braces, and it was a very difficult venture to start.
GS: And we’ve worked together a lot, so I know how talented you are now, but it didn’t start out that way, right?
CS: No, no, no. Very humble beginnings. Very humble.
GS: But you’ve practiced hard. Practice makes perfect, right?
CS: Well, practice makes better. Perfection in and of itself is kind of an illusion if you think about it.
GS: Gotcha. So, let’s talk about Evolution of The Groove. You had that group for a while, but now you’ve gone solo as Javi Aguilera. Can I call that a stage name? I know the story, but let’s hear it from you.
CS: Well, the story of the name is that Javi Aguilera is actually my birth name. It was the name my birth mother gave me when I was born, back in Santiago, Chile. I then went into foster care, where my foster mom named me Fernando. After that, I was adopted by my now parents, who gave me the name Chris.
GS: And Chris Sclafani is the guy we know and love. So, let’s dive into this new song. It’s quite a production. How did it all come together, and is there more to come?
CS: Well, the first part of that question—I’m not entirely sure where it came from. It was toward the end of the pandemic when I started brainstorming like, “What do I want to do once we’re free?” It all started with just this one line that I didn’t even know what to assign to an instrument. That line turned into another line, and another, and soon I had this huge production.
GS: Who all is on the track with you?
CS: From the top, we have Steven Cunningham and Nick Skinner on trumpets. We have Reggie Pace, Alex Powers, and Toby Whitaker on trombones. The saxes were Nathanael Clark, Chet Frierson, and myself. I did a little bit of baritone too. Then, in the rhythm section, there’s DeSean Gault on drums, Jordan Mason on bass, Forest Link on guitar, and Nelson Valentine on keys.
For the strings, there is Marissa Resmini and Sam Kahl on violin, Jonathan Boyd on viola, Ned Haskins on cello, and Matt Harris on Upright Bass.
GS: Nice. That’s a stacked crew. Where’d you record it?
CS: Minimum Wage Studios with Lance Koehler.
GS: Shout out to Lance Koehler! So, is there more music to come, or are you just riding this single for now?
CS: For now, just riding the single. I do have a lot more music I want to record, but you know how it is—gotta get the funds together to pull that off.
GS: I hear you. So, when did you finish recording, and how soon after did you start working on the video?
CS: I think the recording process wrapped up last fall—fall of 2023. That’s when the mixing and mastering started, and I also began getting photos and everything ready for promotion. And I had to get it to my guy Sam K, who did some amazing production work on it.
GS: Was Sam Koff a producer on this?
CS: Yeah, he really pushed it that little bit more to take it over the top.
GS: And who did you tap for the video?
CS: That was Tyler Scheerschmidt, co-founder of the Hourglass Sessions.
GS: Awesome. So, what’s the story behind “The Other Side”? What does it mean to you?
CS: Basically, it’s my story. It’s about all the emotions I’ve felt over the years, dealing with the pandemic, coming out of it, and showing people this side of me that not many know. I figured it was time to share a little bit about myself.
GS: And let’s give people a quick rundown of your resume. You’ve been everywhere —
CS: Yeah, shout out to Familia.
GS: Familia indeed. And you’ve worked with Afro-Zen, Brunswick, The Soul Providers, The Flavor Project…
CS: Yup, did some work with all of them.
GS: People have definitely seen you around. So, how do you want us to put this interview out—Javi Aguilera or Chris Sclafani?
CS: Definitely Javi. I’m trying to separate the two and see how that works out.
GS: Got it. Thanks for doing this, Javi. Folks, check out “The Other Side” on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube—wherever you stream your music.
