|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Friday, 19 March 2010 |
|
Wayne Escoffery & Veneration at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola with special guest Nicholas Payton, June 2-7 |
|
|
|
Written by Ronaldo Oregano
|
|
Saturday, 30 May 2009 |
 Wayne Escoffery, photo by Lorenzo Dasaro
Wayne Escoffery's group Veneration will perform at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola with special guest Nicholas Paytonon Tuesday, June 2nd -through Saturday, June 7th. Veneration is an all-star ensemble featuring Wayne Escoffery on tenor aaxophone, Joe Locke on vibes, Joe Martin on bass, Lewis Nash on drums and special guest Nicholas Payton on trumpet. Since moving to New York City in 2000, tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery has become one of the Jazz world’s most talented rising stars and in-demand sidemen. At only 32 he has recorded four CDs as a leader and been on numerous recordings as a sideman. Wayne began his professional New York career touring and recording with The Eric Reed Septet. In 2001 he became a steady member of the Mingus Big Band/Orchestra/Dynasty, The Lonnie Plaxico Group, and Abdulah Ibrahim’s Akaya.
Then in 2004 Wayne was invited to join Ben Riley’s Monk legacy Septet (an innovative piano-less group dedicated to carrying on the legacy of jazz great Thelonious Monk). At this time Wayne was also touring with Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Music of the Masters consisting of two groups of musicians hand picked by Wynton Marsalis. The Music of Dexter Gordon featured Wayne with Saxophonists Jimmy Greene and Gerry Welden; backed by Dexter Gordon alumni George Cables, Rufus Reid and Leroy Williams. The Music of Miles Davis featured Wayne with trumpet great Eddie Henderson and alto saxophonist Steve Wilson in the front line; backed by David Kikoski, Ed Howard and Miles Davis veteran Jimmy Cobb on drums.
 Joe Locke
In October of 2006 Wayne signed with Savant Records, founded and run by noted record industry legend Joe Fields and his highly respected son Barney. His first CD for Savant called Veneration (released in March of 2007) was recorded live at Smoke Jazz Club in NYC and features Joe Locke on vibes, Hans Glawichnig on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums.
Despite his musical talent Wayne (born on February 23rd 1975 in London, England) grew up in a relatively non-musical household. In 1983, he and his mother moved to the United States eventually settling in New Haven, Connecticut in 1986. Wayne always enjoyed singing whatever music he heard but it wasn’t until his relocation to New Haven that his formal music education began.
At age eleven Wayne joined The New Haven Trinity Boys Choir, an internationally known Boys Choir that toured and recorded annually. At this time he also began taking private saxophone lessons and playing the tenor saxophone in school bands. By the time he was sixteen he left the Choir and began a more intensive study of the saxophone, attending The Jazz Mobile in New York City, The Neighborhood Music School and The Educational Center for the Arts, both in New Haven. During his senior year in high School, he attended the Artist’s Collective in Hartford, Ct. It was there that he met Jackie McLean, the world-renowned alto saxophonist and founder of both The Artist’s Collective and the jazz program at The Hartt School. McLean gave
Wayne a full scholarship to attend The Hartt School, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance, and became known as one of McLean’s prize pupils. While at Hartt, Wayne played with such jazz greats as Curtis Fuller, Eddie Henderson, Philip Harper, Albert Heath, and many others. He went on to attend The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at The New England Conservatory in Boston. It was a full scholarship two-year college program, accepting a small select group of the world’s most talented young jazz artists every two years. At the Institute, he toured with Herbie Hancock and studied with George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Don Braden, Clark Terry, Ron Carter, Barry Harris, Charlie Persip and other Jazz masters. In May 1999, Wayne graduated with a Masters degree from The New England Conservatory moving to NYC in 2000.
Since then, he has performed with countless internationally respected musicians and has become known for his beautiful sound, impressive technique and versatility. J. Robert Bragonier of All About Jazz Magazine writes, “This is a talented youngster capable of long, flowing lines, noteworthy creativity, and a broad range of expressiveness.” When commenting on Jackie McLean’s influence on Escoffery, he writes …“the latter’s influence is apparent in his knowledge of jazz history, lean, angular harmonies, and muscular tone.” As well as performing with his newest group Veneration and a collaborative group with vocalist Carolyn Leonhart, Wayne Escoffery currently performs locally and tours internationally with Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet, The Tom Harrell Quintet, The Mingus Big Band/Orchestra/Dynasty, and The Carolyn Leonhart Group.
Biographic information adapted from www.escofferymusic.com/ Nicholas Payton © Andrea Canter
Nocholas Payton was born into a musical family (he remembers sitting under the piano while his father rehearsed with his band) and mentored by two Crescent City jazz masters (Clyde Kerr Jr. at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans), Payton was well-prepared to leap into the jazz fray when he emerged on the New York in the early 1990s. He impressed fellow New Orleans native and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis and was a regular in the early years of programming at the institution. Payton went on to put his own spin on Louis Armstrong-associated music on his sophomore CD, the appropriately-titled 1995 disc Gumbo Nouveau. In 1996, the late, legendary trumpeter Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, who subbed for Armstrong in a Chicago theatre orchestra in the 1920s and collaborated with Payton on a Grammy-winning recording, remarked, "Nicholas is the greatest of the New Orleans-style trumpet players that I've ever heard ... I haven't heard anybody like him since Louis." Similarly, New Orleans drummer Herlin Riley told Jazziz magazine, "I think the spirit of Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden, and those kind of people lives in Nicholas more than any other trumpet player from New Orleans. Nicholas was raised into a tradition. The sound of New Orleans traditional jazz was part of his upbringing. It wasn't something he had to reach back for; he took his roots and extended beyond." In 2003 he shocked the jazz world with his adventurous CD Sonic Trance, an exhilarating plugged-in outing infused with elements of hip-hop, electronica, and effects-driven trumpeting.
June 2nd - 7th
Wayne Escoffery & Veneration @ Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola with special guest Nicholas Payton
Reservations Highly recommended
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola is located at Frederick P. Rose Hall, the Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street on the 5th Floor. For reservations call: 212 258-9595 or visit www.jalc.org/dccc. Seating is available on a first-come first-served basis either at tables or at the bar.
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| |
New York 
Home | New and Notable | Photo Galleries | CD/DVD/Book Reviews | Interviews | SF Bay Area | Chicago | Los Angeles | New York | Twin Cities, MN | More Cities | Festivals | News | Contact | Follow Jazz Police on Twitter | 
