Wayne Escoffery is a Grammy Award-winning tenor saxophonist and 2014 DownBeat Critics Poll winner, widely recognized as one of today’s leading voices in jazz. Since 2006, he’s held a frontline role in Tom Harrell’s acclaimed quintet, recording seven albums and co-producing four. A longtime member of the Mingus Big Band, Escoffery has also performed with legends like Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Al Foster, and Wallace Roney.

As a bandleader, Escoffery tours internationally and has released several acclaimed albums, including The Humble Warrior on Smoke Sessions Records. He also co-founded the Black Art Jazz Collective, a group celebrating African American cultural icons through original music.

An educator as well as performer, Escoffery teaches at the Yale School of Music and works with young musicians through NJPAC’s Jazz for Teens program.