Wayne Escoffery is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, born in 1975 in London. In 2014, he won the 62nd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll for Rising Star on tenor saxophone, and in 2010 he received a Grammy with the Mingus Big Band. Escoffery is the founder of the Black Art Jazz Collective and a professor at Yale University. His current quartet consists of pianist David Kikoski, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr.

Escoffery is known for his big, full tone and his post-bop style. The quartet's latest albums, The Humble Warrior and Like Minds on the Smoke Sessions Records label, received rave reviews and both earned 4 stars in DownBeat Magazine. His newest album Alone from August 2024 reflects on love, loss, and loneliness and received 5 stars in the London Times, 4 stars in Jazzwise Magazine, and 4 stars in DownBeat Magazine.

Escoffery regularly performs with his quartet and has toured internationally with Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet, the Mingus Band, Ron Carter's Big Band, and others. In fall 2016, he was appointed Lecturer of Jazz Improvisation and Ensemble Coach at the Yale School of Music and is now Director of Jazz Ensembles and Jazz Saxophone Instructor.