Wayne Escoffery
Encyclopedia
Wayne Escoffery is a jazz
saxophonist
based in New York City
.
, Eric Reed
, and the Charles Mingus Big Band. Other musicians performed with include Ralph Peterson, Ben Riley, Ron Carter
, Rufus Reid
, Bill Charlap, Bruce Barth, Jimmy Cobb
, and Eddie Henderson. He has worked with vocalists including Mary Stallings
, Cynthia Scott, Nancie Banks, Laverne Butler, and Carolyn Leonhart.
In addition to performing with his own Quartet and Quintet, Escoffery currently performs and tours with Ben Riley
's Monk Legacy Septet, The Mingus Band, Abdullah Ibrahim's Akaya, The Carolyn Leonhart Group, and Jazz at Lincoln Center
: The Music of Miles Davis
. He is a member of The Tom Harrell
Quintet.
and settled in New Haven, Connecticut
in 1986.
At eleven Escoffery joined The New Haven Trinity Boys Choir and began taking saxophone lessons from Malcolm Dickinson. At sixteen he left the choir and began a more intensive study of the saxophone, attending the Jazzmobile
in New York City, the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, and the ACES Educational Center for the Arts
in New Haven. During his senior year in high School, he attended the Artists Collective in Hartford, Connecticut
. He met Jackie McLean
, a well known alto saxophonist and founder of the jazz program at The Hartt School
.
Escoffery was awarded a scholarship to attend The Hartt School
, where he studied with McLean for four years, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance summa cum laude in 1997. He then attended the Thelonious Monk
Institute of Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts (1997–1999). During this time he toured with Herbie Hancock
and performed and studied with several jazz greats. In 1999 he graduated with a Masters degree and moved to New York to begin his professional career.
Escoffery married vocalist Carolyn Leonhart in 2004. The two have one child and have collaborated on many performances. They appear together on several albums.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Performing history
Since 2000 he has been working in New York City with Carl AllenCarl Allen (drummer)
Carl Allen is an American jazz drummer.He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, George Coleman and Phil Woods. and the Benny Green Trio....
, Eric Reed
Eric Reed
Eric Shane Reed is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He is an alumnus of Texas A&M University...
, and the Charles Mingus Big Band. Other musicians performed with include Ralph Peterson, Ben Riley, Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, Rufus Reid
Rufus Reid
Rufus Reid is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.-Personal history:...
, Bill Charlap, Bruce Barth, Jimmy Cobb
Jimmy Cobb
-External links:* - includes full discography* * * * * * *...
, and Eddie Henderson. He has worked with vocalists including Mary Stallings
Mary Stallings
Mary Stallings is an American jazz vocalist and mother of R&B/soul singer Adriana Evans.-Biography:Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco, one of the eldest of 11 children in the Stallings family; saxophonist Ron Stallings is her first cousin...
, Cynthia Scott, Nancie Banks, Laverne Butler, and Carolyn Leonhart.
In addition to performing with his own Quartet and Quintet, Escoffery currently performs and tours with Ben Riley
Ben Riley
Ben Riley is an American hard bop drummer known for his work with Thelonious Monk, as well as Alice Coltrane, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ahmad Jamal, Kenny Barron, and as member of the group Sphere...
's Monk Legacy Septet, The Mingus Band, Abdullah Ibrahim's Akaya, The Carolyn Leonhart Group, and Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
: The Music of Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
. He is a member of The Tom Harrell
Tom Harrell
Tom Harrell is a renowned American post-bop jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer and arranger.-Biography:Tom Harrell was born in Urbana, Illinois but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area at the age of five. He started playing trumpet at eight and within five years, started playing gigs with...
Quintet.
- "This is a talented youngster capable of long, flowing lines, noteworthy creativity, and a broad range of expressiveness." - J. Robert Bragonier, writing in All About JazzAll About JazzAll About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
magazine
Biography
Wayne and his mother emigrated to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and settled in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
in 1986.
At eleven Escoffery joined The New Haven Trinity Boys Choir and began taking saxophone lessons from Malcolm Dickinson. At sixteen he left the choir and began a more intensive study of the saxophone, attending the Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile, Inc. is based in New York, and was founded in 1964 by Daphne Arnstein, an arts patron and founder of the Harlem Cultural Council and Dr. William "Billy" Taylor. It is a multifaceted, outreach organization committed to bringing "America's Classical Music"—Jazz—to the largest possible...
in New York City, the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, and the ACES Educational Center for the Arts
ACES Educational Center for the Arts
ACES Educational Center for the Arts, or ECA, is an American public arts magnet high school located at 55 Audubon Street in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. The school is primarily located in the former Mishkan Israel synagogue with studio spaces across the street...
in New Haven. During his senior year in high School, he attended the Artists Collective in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. He met Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
, a well known alto saxophonist and founder of the jazz program at The Hartt School
Hartt School
The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre...
.
Escoffery was awarded a scholarship to attend The Hartt School
Hartt School
The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre...
, where he studied with McLean for four years, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance summa cum laude in 1997. He then attended the Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
Institute of Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts (1997–1999). During this time he toured with Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
and performed and studied with several jazz greats. In 1999 he graduated with a Masters degree and moved to New York to begin his professional career.
Escoffery married vocalist Carolyn Leonhart in 2004. The two have one child and have collaborated on many performances. They appear together on several albums.
Recordings
- 2001: Times Change (Nagel-Heyer Records)
- 2004: Intuition (Nagel-Heyer)
- 2007: Veneration: Live at Smoke (Savant Records)
- 2007: Carolyn Leonhart & Wayne Escoffery - If Dreams Come True (Nagel-Heyer)
- 2008: Wayne Escoffery & Veneration - Hopes & Dreams (Savant Records)
- 2009: Uptown (Posi-Tone Records)