Thomas C. Duffy, Director Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at 7:30 pm Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall
Yale Jazz Ensemble Big Band Wayne Escoffery, Music Director
Snibor BILLY STRAYHORN Nathan Miranda – alto sax, Grace Burton – trumpet, Ethan Dodd – tenor sax Little Rootie Tootie THELONIOUS MONK arr. Oliver Nelson/ed. Jeffrey Sultanof Isaac Wilks – guitar, Aidan Kluger – piano, Jose Key – alto sax, Max Saffer-Meng – trombone Raincheck BILLY STRAYHORN trans. David Berger Michael Gancz – trombone, Graham Stodolski – tenor sax, Ethan Dodd – tenor sax, Aidan Kluger – piano, Joshua Bialkin – trumpet Boo-Dah BILLY STRAYHORN trans. David Berger/Dylan Canterbury Grace Burton – trumpet, Ethan Dodd – tenor sax, Max Saffer-Meng – trombone, Calvin Kaleel – bass Isfahan DUKE ELLINGTON / BILLY STRAYHORN Nathan Miranda – alto sax
Mount Harissa DUKE ELLINGTON Aidan Kluger – piano, Wayne Escoffery – guest sax soloist, Isaac Wilks – guitar
Let’s Cool One THELONIOUS MONK arr. Oliver Nelson/ed. Jeffrey Sultanof Aidan Kluger – piano, Aaron Yu – bari sax, Calvin Kaleel – bass, Jarron Long – drums Monk’s Point THELONIOUS MONK arr. Oliver Nelson/ed. Jeffrey Sultanof Connor Holland – trumpet; Jose Key – alto sax; Aaron Yu – bari sax; Andy Pantoja, Max Saffer-Meng and Michael Gancz – trombones Brilliant Corners THELONIOUS MONK arr. Oliver Nelson/ed. Jeffrey Sultanof Aidan Kluger – piano, Ethan Dodd and Graham Stodolski – tenor saxes, Jarron Long - drums
Introducing
Wayne Escoffery
Saxophonist/Composer/Educator “A powerful, passionate player.” Ben Ratliff – The New York Times “His sound is arguably a contemporary mix of Coltrane, Shorter and Henderson influences, but is already personal…His technique is superb…” Tony Hall – Jazzwise Magazine “Escoffery’s playing is impassioned and intense” Chris Robinson – Downbeat Magazine “a skillful, musical player” Chris Kelsey – JazzTimes “A thoughtful and ambitious composer” Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. – All Music Guide “Escoffery has a large, vibrant sound; a technical facility evident to even the untutored; and a lyrical streak that can get a complicated solo to sing and dance.” Neil Tesser – Chicago Reader Wayne Escoffery is a 2014 and 2021 Downbeat Critics Poll winner for both the Tenor and Soprano Saxophones and a Grammy Awardwinning musician. He is considered one of the Jazz world’s most talented saxophonists and in-demand sidemen. Originally from London, Wayne grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, which is where his love for Jazz and formal study of music began. As a high school student and an undergraduate at The Hartt School, Escoffery studied under the mentorship of saxophone legend Jackie McLean and was among the second class of students at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at The New England Conservatory, from which he received a Master’s degree in Music. In 2006, he secured one of the most coveted gigs in jazz: a frontline position in Tom Harrell’s working quintet. For over a decade, Escoffery was mostly associated with the trumpet master, having toured the globe with the trumpeter, recorded seven CDs with The Tom Harrell Quintet, and co-produced four of those releases. He has also been a member of The Mingus Dynasty Big Band and Orchestra since 2000, with which he has made several recordings. Over the years, he has recorded and performed internationally with the Who’s Who In Jazz, including Ron Carter, Ben Riley, Abdulah Ibrahim, Eric Reed, Carl Allen, Al Foster, Billy Hart, Eddie Henderson, Rufus Reid, Wallace Roney, Randy Brecker, and Herbie Hancock, to name a few. Escoffery leads his own groups which tour internationally, and with whom he has made several highly acclaimed studio recordings. His current working quartet features pianist David Kikoski, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Ralph Peterson, and has released three
albums, the latest of which is The Humble Warrior on the Smoke Sessions Records label. Escoffery is also a founding member of a collaborative group called Black Art Jazz Collective, which is comprised of fellow rising star musicians of his generation and is dedicated to celebrating the origins of Jazz and African American Icons through originally composed music. In addition to performing, Escoffery is dedicated to music education and presents lectures and master classes on Jazz music. He is currently the saxophone instructor for The New Jersey Performing Arts Wells Fargo Jazz for Teens program, and currently teaches private online and in-person lessons for all instruments. In the fall of 2016, Escoffery was appointed Lecturer of Jazz Improvisation and ensemble coach at the Yale School of Music as a part of Yale University’s Jazz Initiative, the first of its kind for the university. The vast array of contributions Escoffery has made to the Jazz world in such a short time leads seasoned industry professionals like Neil Tesser to write “Pay special attention to tenor man Wayne Escoffery whose rapid development – from album to album (and seemingly solo to solo) – has given us a jazz hero for the coming decade.”
YALE JAZZ ENSEMBLE BIG BAND 2021-2022 WAYNE ESCOFFERY, Music Director STEPHANIE HUBBARD, Business Manager
Alto Saxophones Nathan Miranda SOM’23 Jose Key TC 22 Tenor Saxophones Ethan Dodd JE ’22 Graham Stodolski PC ’24 Baritone Saxophone Aaron Yu MC ’25
Trumpets Grace Burton TD ’25 Joshua Bialkin YSM ’22 Connor Holland YSM ’22 Trombones Max Saffer-Meng BR ’24 Andy Pantoja BK ’22 Michael Gancz MY ’21
Piano Aidan Kluger TD ’24 Guitar Isaac Wilks SY ’23 Bass Calvin Kaleel TD 22 Drums Jarron Long GH ’23
Upcoming Yale Bands Performances • Friday, November 12, 2021: Yale Concert Band, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Of Our New Day Begun (Omar Thomas), Roma (Valerie Coleman), High Water Rising (Sally Lamb McCune), Resonances I (Ron Nelson), Fireflies (Ryan George). 7:30 p.m. Woolsey Hall. Open to asymptomatic, vaccinated Yale community members (faculty, staff, and enrolled students) with valid Yale ID. Free/registration required: https://bands.yalecollege.yale.edu/event/yaleconcert-band. • Saturday, February 26, 2022: Yale Concert Band Winter Concert, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Premiere: Gustav Holst’s (The) Planets with graphic projections by Yale School of Drama Students Camilla Tassi ’22 and John Horzen ’24; (5523) Luminet 1998 PH8 (Thérèse Brenet). Woolsey Hall, 7:30 p.m. Free. Audience policy TBA. • Monday, March 7, 2022: Yale Jazz Ensemble Big Band, Wayne Escoffery, Music Director. Celebrating the centennial of bassist and composer Charles Mingus. Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall, 7:30 p.m. Free. Audience policy TBA. • Thursday, April 14, 2022: Yale Concert Band, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Program TBA. Woolsey Hall, 7:30 p.m. Free. Audience policy TBA. • Sunday, April 24, 2022: Yale Concert Band, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Special Tribute Concert. Details TBA. Woolsey Hall, 2:00 p.m. Free. Audience policy TBA.
YALE UNIVERSITY BANDS P.O. Box 209048, New Haven, CT 06520-9048 phone: 203-432-4111 stephanie.hubbard@yale.edu www.yale.edu/yaleband