{"title":"Wayne Escoffery","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"wayne-escoffery-like-minds-cd","title":"Wayne Escoffery - Like Minds CD","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 700px; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3271221719\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/wayneescofferysmoke.bandcamp.com\/album\/like-minds\"\u003eLike Minds by Wayne Escoffery\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eCD in 8-panel Digipak Album with liner notes by Chris Pearson and photography by Jimmy and Dena Katz.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eSaxophonist\/composer WAYNE ESCOFFERY celebrates the chemistry shared by his closest musical collaborators on LIKE MINDS featuring special guests Gregory Porter, Tom Harrell, Mike Moreno, and Daniel Sadownick who join Escoffery’s acclaimed quartet with David Kikoski, Ugonna Okegwo, and Mark Whitfield, Jr.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eThese musicians may approach music with a similar mindset, but all arrived from very different places. Escoffery grew up in London, England, moving often throughout his adolescence before settling in Connecticut, where he studied with the legendary saxophonist Jackie McLean. He teaches there now at Yale University, where his mother worked in an administrative position, as well as at NJPAC in New Jersey. A Grammy Award and DownBeat Critics’ Poll winner, he is one of the musical directors of The Mingus Big Band and has performed with a who’s who of jazz including Herbie Hancock, Tom Harrell, Ron Carter, Ben Riley, Al Foster, Monty Alexander, Eddie Henderson, Wallace Roney, and others.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e“I wanted to explore the deep connections that we all share,” Escoffery explains. “All of these musicians are important parts of my musical development, and everyone on the album was chosen specifically for their sound and for what I knew they would add. I don’t think anyone else could play this music quite like they do.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ereleased on April 14, 2023\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eWayne Escoffery – tenor \u0026amp; soprano saxophone\u003cbr\u003e\nDavid Kikoski – piano \u0026amp; Fender Rhodes\u003cbr\u003e\nUgonna Okegwo – bass\u003cbr\u003e\nMark Whitfield Jr. – drums\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eSpecial guests:\u003cbr\u003e\nGregory Porter – vocals (tracks 4 \u0026amp; 5)\u003cbr\u003e\nTom Harrell – trumpet (tracks 2 \u0026amp; 4)\u003cbr\u003e\nMike Moreno – guitar (tracks 1, 3, 8 \u0026amp; 9)\u003cbr\u003e\nDaniel Sadownick – percussion (track 5)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eRecorded Live March 31, 2022\u003cbr\u003e\nat Sear Sound Studio, New York City\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eProduced by Paul Stache \u0026amp; Damon Smith\u003cbr\u003e\nRecording, Mixing \u0026amp; Mastering Engineer: Chris Allen\u003cbr\u003e\nPhotography: Jimmy \u0026amp; Dena Katz\u003cbr\u003e\nWayne Escoffery is a D’Addario Artist \u0026amp; endorses AMT Microphones\u003cbr\u003e\nGregory Porter appears courtesy of Universal Music France\u003cbr\u003e\nTom Harrell \u0026amp; David Kikoski appear courtesy of HighNote Records\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eExecutive Producers: Paul Stache \u0026amp; Molly Johnson\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smoke Sessions Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56382098178430,"sku":"SSR-2303-CD","price":10.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0962\/4161\/5230\/files\/SSR-2303-CD.jpg?v=1760094993"},{"product_id":"wayne-escoffery-the-humble-warrior-cd","title":"Wayne Escoffery - The Humble Warrior CD","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 700px; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3084103788\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/wayneescofferysmoke.bandcamp.com\/album\/the-humble-warrior\"\u003eThe Humble Warrior by Wayne Escoffery\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e8-panel Digipak Album\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e“THE HUMBLE WARRIOR finds Wayne Escoffery coming full circle, returning to where his musical life began. His Smoke Sessions label debut also marks a new beginning of sorts with a quartet as solid and improvisational as any.”\u003cbr\u003e\n— Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e“The Benjamin Britten is ‘jazzing the classics’ of a high order, but my favourite tracks are the originals that follow, excellent vehicles for the group’s effortless mastery of improvisation.”\u003cbr\u003e\n— Andy Hamilton, Jazz Journal\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e“Acoustic small group jazz played at as high a level as anyone since Joe Henderson…worthy of serious attention.”\u003cbr\u003e\n— Phil Freeman, The New York City Jazz Record\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e#1 JazzWeek radio chart (2 weeks)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e***\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eSaxophonist Wayne Escoffery is renowned for his fiery, muscular, and virtuosic tenor playing, but his explosive sound is paired with a soft-spoken and thoughtful demeanor off the bandstand. In many cases, both of those aspects of his personality can be credited to the same inspirations, giants of the music who paired estimable talents and imagination with rock-solid integrity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eOn his album, THE HUMBLE WARRIOR, Escoffery pays homage to those figures with his most ambitious and wide-ranging set to date. While Escoffery himself strives to represent the tenets of a Humble Warrior, it would be easy for him to act otherwise, given his stand-out career and ample accolades. A Grammy Award and DownBeat Critics Poll winner, he has performed with a who’s who of jazz, including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Abdullah Ibrahim, Al Foster, Billy Hart, Eddie Henderson, Wallace Roney, and others. He has been a member of the Mingus Dynasty, Big Band and Orchestra since 2000 and toured and recorded with Tom Harrell for over a decade. In addition to his Quartet, Escoffery co-leads the Black Art Jazz Collective along with other leading voices of his generation and the next.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eTHE HUMBLE WARRIOR marks Escoffery’s leader debut for Smoke Sessions Records, where he’s previously recorded with the trombonist Steve Davis. The album features the return of Escoffery’s stellar quartet featuring pianist David Kikoski, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Ralph Peterson. Trumpet great Randy Brecker and guitarist David Gilmore supplement the band for Escoffery’s breathtaking arrangement of several parts of Benjamin Britten’s Missa Brevis in D.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e“We lost a lot of really great musicians in 2018 and 2019,” he says. “People like Roy Hargrove, Harold Mabern, Larry Willis, Richard Wyands, Lawrence Leathers, and, most recently, Jimmy Heath. I would describe all of those musicians as “Humble Warriors.” I have a lot of admiration and respect for them; they were all great warriors of the Music but always allowed the music to keep them humble. They all exemplified the utmost humility and integrity despite their superior abilities. I hope to maintain those same traits in my musical endeavors.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ereleased April 10, 2020\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eWayne Escoffery – tenor \u0026amp; soprano saxophones\u003cbr\u003e\nDavid Kikoski – piano\u003cbr\u003e\nUgonna Okegwo – bass\u003cbr\u003e\nRalph Peterson Jr. – drums\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eRandy Brecker – trumpet (tracks 3, 4, 5 \u0026amp; 6)\u003cbr\u003e\nDavid Gilmore – guitar (tracks 3, 4 \u0026amp; 5)\u003cbr\u003e\nVaughn Escoffery – vocals (track 5)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eRecorded Live November 18, 2019, at Sear Sound Studio C, NYC\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eProduced by Paul Stache \u0026amp; Damon Smith\u003cbr\u003e\nRecording, Mixing \u0026amp; Mastering Engineer: Chris Allen\u003cbr\u003e\nStudio Assistant: Justin Berger\u003cbr\u003e\nVocal Engineer: Alonzo Wright\u003cbr\u003e\nLiner Notes: Nate Chinen\u003cbr\u003e\nPhotography: Jimmy and Dena Katz\u003cbr\u003e\nPerformance Photo: Jutta Deichmann\u003cbr\u003e\nDesign: Damon Smith and Paul Stache\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eWayne Escoffery is a D’Addario Artist \u0026amp; endorses AMT Microphones\u003cbr\u003e\nDavid Kikoski appears courtesy of HighNote Records\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smoke Sessions Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56382102897022,"sku":"SSR-2002-CD","price":10.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0962\/4161\/5230\/files\/SSR-2002-CD.jpg?v=1760095121"},{"product_id":"wayne-escoffery-alone-lp","title":"Wayne Escoffery - Alone LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eSaxophonist Wayne Escoffery reflects on love, loss, and solitude on his stunning new album, the atmospheric and haunting, Alone, featuring a remarkable all-star quartet with Ron Carter, Carl Allen, and Gerald Clayton\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e***\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the summer of 2023, saxophonist and composer Wayne Escoffery found himself alone in a way that he’d never quite experienced before. He was away from home, on sabbatical in Europe with a month to himself between tours. A long-term relationship had just ended, and he was confronted with the loss of friendships that he’d once valued. Worst of all, he’d suffered a broken finger that left him unable to play the saxophone for the first time since he’d picked up the horn in high school.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Normally, my coping mechanism would be the saxophone,” Escoffery laments. “But even that wasn't available to me for about nine weeks, so I just had to be alone in my thoughts.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe made good use of this alone time, conceptualizing the music that makes up his striking and singular new album, Alone. What emerged from that solitude was an extended mood piece, an album unique in Escoffery’s typically wide-ranging catalogue for its sustained atmosphere of stark melancholy and searching introspection. The music is breathtakingly interpreted by an all-star quartet featuring iconic bassist Ron Carter, drummer Carl Allen, and pianist Gerald Clayton.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe music Escoffery compiled for Alone – a carefully selected blend of original compositions and familiar standards – vividly captures the profound richness and variety of emotion that loneliness can evoke. Although it was conceived during isolation, heartbreak, regret, and reflection, the experience of the album is far richer even than that. In the end, “I was forced to reflect on life and what was most important to me,” Escoffery concludes. “The concept of this album grew out of that reflection.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smoke Sessions Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56382112891262,"sku":"SSR-2405-LP","price":29.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0962\/4161\/5230\/files\/Wayne-Escoffery-ALONE-LP-COVER-copy-scaled.jpg?v=1760095378"},{"product_id":"wayne-escoffery-alone-cd","title":"Wayne Escoffery - Alone CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eSaxophonist Wayne Escoffery reflects on love, loss, and solitude on his stunning new album, the atmospheric and haunting, Alone, featuring a remarkable all-star quartet with Ron Carter, Carl Allen, and Gerald Clayton\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e***\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the summer of 2023, saxophonist and composer Wayne Escoffery found himself alone in a way that he’d never quite experienced before. He was away from home, on sabbatical in Europe with a month to himself between tours. A long-term relationship had just ended, and he was confronted with the loss of friendships that he’d once valued. Worst of all, he’d suffered a broken finger that left him unable to play the saxophone for the first time since he’d picked up the horn in high school.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Normally, my coping mechanism would be the saxophone,” Escoffery laments. “But even that wasn't available to me for about nine weeks, so I just had to be alone in my thoughts.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe made good use of this alone time, conceptualizing the music that makes up his striking and singular new album, Alone. What emerged from that solitude was an extended mood piece, an album unique in Escoffery’s typically wide-ranging catalogue for its sustained atmosphere of stark melancholy and searching introspection. The music is breathtakingly interpreted by an all-star quartet featuring iconic bassist Ron Carter, drummer Carl Allen, and pianist Gerald Clayton.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe music Escoffery compiled for Alone – a carefully selected blend of original compositions and familiar standards – vividly captures the profound richness and variety of emotion that loneliness can evoke. Although it was conceived during isolation, heartbreak, regret, and reflection, the experience of the album is far richer even than that. In the end, “I was forced to reflect on life and what was most important to me,” Escoffery concludes. “The concept of this album grew out of that reflection.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smoke Sessions Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56382112956798,"sku":"SSR-2405-CD","price":11.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0962\/4161\/5230\/files\/Wayne-Escoffery-ALONE-LP-COVER-copy-scaled_f5b9300c-ccce-48f8-b36b-30fd96583deb.jpg?v=1760095382"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0962\/4161\/5230\/collections\/Wayne-Escoffery-ALONE-LP-COVER-copy-scaled_f5b9300c-ccce-48f8-b36b-30fd96583deb.jpg?v=1773859154","url":"https:\/\/8merch.shop\/collections\/wayne-escoffery.oembed","provider":"8Merch Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}