Wayne Escoffery

Wayne Escoffery ( born February 23, 1975 in London, England) is a living in the United States jazz tenor saxophonist.

Life and work

Escoffery emigrated with his mother to the United States and moved to New Haven ( Connecticut ) in 1986. At age eleven, he sang in New Haven Trinity Boys Choir and took saxophone lessons with Malcolm Dickinson. At age 16, he left the choir in order to focus on the saxophone, and initially studied at the Jazz Mobile in New York City, the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven and in the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven.

During studies at the Artists Collective in Hartford ( Connecticut ), he met Jackie McLean know, who headed the jazz program of the Hartt School. Supported by a scholarship of the Hartt School, Escoffery studied from 1993 to 1997 in McLean and acquired in 1997 a Bachelor in Jazz Performance. From 1997 to 1999 he continued his studies at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston. During this time he went with Herbie Hancock on tour. In 1999 he obtained a Master and moved to New York to work as a professional musician.

Since 2000 he has worked in New York City, among others, Carl Allen, Eric Reed, the Mingus Dynasty and the Mingus Big Band ( Tonight at Noon ), Ralph Peterson, Ben Riley, Ron Carter, Rufus Reid, Bill Charlap, Bruce Barth, Jimmy Cobb and Eddie Henderson, also with the singers Mary Stallings, Cynthia Scott, Nancie Banks, LaVerne Butler and Carolyn Leonhart.

Since the early 2000s Escoffery works with its own formation. He also performs with Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet, Big in the Mingus band in Abdullah Ibrahim band Akaya, in the backing band of Carolyn Leonhart and at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He also plays in the quintet by Tom Harrell and in the band of trombonist David Gibson ( Maya, 2001).

Since 2004, Escoffery is married to Carolyn Leonhart.

Disco Graphical Notes

  • Times Change ( Nagel - Heyer Records, 2001) with Aaron Goldberg, Joel Forbes, Carl Allen
  • Intuition ( Nagel Heyer, 2004)
  • Hopes and Dreams (Savant Records, 2008) with Joe Locke, Hans Glawischnig, Lewis Nash, Jonathan Blake, Tom Harrell
  • Carolyn Leonhart Wayne Escoffery Tides of Yesterday (Savant Records, 2010)
  • The Only Son of One ( Sunnyside, 2012)
Jazzmobile Hartford (Connecticut) Carl Allen (drummer) Eric Reed (musician) Mingus Dynasty (Band) Ralph Peterson, Jr. Jimmy Cobb Eddie Henderson (musician) Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Richard Cook (journalist) Brian Morton (Scottish writer) Integrated Authority File
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