It’s often said that great minds think alike, but great bands achieve something even more alchemical. On Like Minds, his second release with Smoke Sessions Records, saxophonist/composer Wayne Escoffery celebrates the finely tuned instincts he shares with some of his most longstanding musical partners.

Due out April 14th, 2023, Like Minds features pianist and keyboardist David Kikoski and bassist Ugonna Okegwo, his quartet-mates since 2016 and collaborators for much longer.

On Like Minds, the quartet is joined by three very special guests who all share their own unique histories with Escoffery: trumpeter Tom Harrell, in whose band Escoffery and Okegwo played together for more than a decade; guitarist Mike Moreno, who the saxophonist met on the Boston scene while he was a student at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at New England Conservatory; and Gregory Porter, who Escoffery met when the now-revered vocalist was honing his skills at St. Nick’s Pub in Harlem.

“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.”

1. Like Minds
2. Nostalgia in Times Square
3. Sincerely Yours
4. My Truth (feat. Gregory Porter)
5. Rivers of Babylon (feat. Gregory Porter)
6. Song of Serenity
7. Treasure Lane
8. Idle Moments
9. Shuffle

Bursting out the musical gate in some rather fine style, up first is the deliriously fanatical title track and then comes the quietly triumphant Nostalgia in Times Square, and they are followed by the fervently-charged Sincerely Yours, the aching yearn within the near eight minute My Truth (featuring Gregory Porter), and then we get brought forth the flourishing reggae classic Rivers of Babylon (also featuring Porter, and originally written by The Melodians, but turned into a world wide smash hit by Boney M in the late ’70s).

Along next is one of my own personal favorites from this simply sumptuous new recording, the luxuriant Song of Serenity (where the quartet pays tribute to its late drummer with this Peterson Jr.’s track) and that is in turn backed by the bubbly Treasure Lane, the translucently shimmering Idle Moments, the album rounding out (all too soon) on the upbeat and joyously swung Shuffle.

Much of the music on Like Minds was, naturally, written during the pandemic. Escoffery was fortunate to have a magnanimous fan, the Fulbright scholar and children’s author Michael Sampson, who gave Escoffery the run of his Gulf Coast home during the second wave of lockdown.

“Treasure Lane” is named for that Florida address, while Duke Pearson’s classic “Idle Moments” reflects on the suspended sense of time we’ve all experienced over the last few years. It also was part of the setlist for Escoffery’s inaugural livestream concert from the label’s namesake Smoke Jazz Club.

This set of music has been worked out on bandstands across the globe since the world reawakened, but more importantly it reflects the chemistry and empathy shared by gifted musicians who share deep roots and Like Minds.

Musicians:
Wayne Escoffery – tenor & soprano saxophone
David Kikoski – piano & Fender Rhodes
Ugonna Okegwo – bass
Mark Whitfield Jr. – drums

Special guests:
Gregory Porter – vocals (tracks 4 & 5)
Tom Harrell – trumpet (tracks 2 & 4)
Mike Moreno – guitar (tracks 1, 3, 8 & 9)
Daniel Sadownick – percussion (track 5)

Official Purchase Link

Official Website