{"id":252,"date":"2026-06-24T02:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/?page_id=252"},"modified":"2026-06-24T06:19:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T06:19:59","slug":"bio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/?page_id=252","title":{"rendered":"Bio"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Curtis Haywood delivers soulful contemporary jazz infused with Caribbean authentic steelpan rhythm integration. His smooth saxophone stylings, and live-performance energy are ideal for festivals, cultural events, and upscale concert experiences. A Brooklyn native with Berklee training in audio engineering, Haywood channels contemporary jazz, R&amp;B, and island grooves through a melodic, soprano-forward sound and an engaging, high-energy stage presence.<\/p>\n<p>His recent performance resume spans Brass City Jazz Festival (2023), Mattatuck Museum (CT, 2022), Heckscher Park (Huntington, NY, 2020), Branford Jazz on the Green (CT, 2019), Springfield Stone Soul Jazz Festival (MA, 2018\/2015), Barbados Laughter &amp; Jazz Festival (2015), Long Island Winterfest at Raphael Vineyard, the 107.5 WBLS New Year\u2019s Eve Cruise (NYC), CNY Jazz Festival (Syracuse), and the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz. On stage and in the studio, he has collaborated with or shared bills with Chieli Minucci\/Special EFX, Will Donato, Elan Trotman, and JJ Sansaverino, and previously performed alongside Take 6, Melba Moore, Ray, Goodman &amp; Brown, Harold Melvin\u2019s Blue Notes, The Intruders, The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, The Temptations featuring Otis Williams, Kirk Franklin, Sounds of Blackness, and The Noel Pointer Band with Dave Valentin.<\/p>\n<p>Haywood\u2019s catalog bridges sleek contemporary jazz and soulful interpretations: the album Smooth Ingredients (2015) and singles Last Dance (2024), City Lights (2022), Summer Breeze (2018), and holiday favorites Hark the Herald Angels Sing (2017) and Mary, Did You Know (2021). Signature originals such as Heal Our Land and Rain Song reflect his belief in music\u2019s power to uplift communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mission ethos:<\/strong> \u201cCurtis Haywood delivers soulful contemporary jazz infused with Caribbean rhythm, smooth saxophone stylings, and live-performance energy ideal for festivals, cultural events, and upscale concert experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><u>Selected highlights and collaborations<\/u><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shared stages: Chieli Minucci\/Special EFX, Will Donato, Elan Trotman, JJ Sansaverino<\/li>\n<li>Prior bills\/tours: Take 6, Melba Moore, Ray, Goodman &amp; Brown, Harold Melvin\u2019s Blue Notes, The Intruders, The Temptations Review feat. Dennis Edwards, The Temptations feat. Otis Williams, Kirk Franklin, Sounds of Blackness, The Noel Pointer Band with Dave Valentin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><u>Selected performances<\/u> (newest first; condensed)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2023 \u2014 Brass City Jazz Festival \u2014 Waterbury, CT<\/li>\n<li>2022 \u2014 Mattatuck Museum \u2014 Waterbury, CT<\/li>\n<li>2020 \u2014 Heckscher Park \u2014 Huntington, NY<\/li>\n<li>2019 \u2014 Branford Jazz on the Green \u2014 Branford, CT<\/li>\n<li>2018 \u2014 Springfield Stone Soul Jazz Festival \u2014 Springfield, MA<\/li>\n<li>2015 \u2014 Springfield Stone Soul Jazz Festival \u2014 Springfield, MA<\/li>\n<li>2015 \u2014 Barbados Laughter &amp; Jazz Festival \u2014 Barbados<\/li>\n<li>2015 \u2014 Pieces of a Dream Concert \u2014 Queens, NY<\/li>\n<li>2014 \u2014 Long Island Winterfest \u2014 Raphael Vineyard, NY<\/li>\n<li>2013 \u2014 Featured with Sinbad and The Intruders \u2014 NJ<\/li>\n<li>2012 \u2014 107.5 WBLS New Year\u2019s Eve Cruise \u2014 New York, NY<\/li>\n<li>2012 \u2014 CNY Jazz Festival \u2014 Syracuse, NY<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Discography (selected)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2024__ Last Dance<\/li>\n<li>2022 \u2014 City Lights (Single)<\/li>\n<li>2021 \u2014 Mary, Did You Know (Single)<\/li>\n<li>2018 \u2014 Summer Breeze (Single)<\/li>\n<li>2017 \u2014 Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Single)<\/li>\n<li>2015 \u2014 Smooth Ingredients (Album)<\/li>\n<li>2007 \u2014 Curtis Haywood (Album)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Press quote<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cHaywood provides \u2018smooth ingredients\u2019 for the perfect musical listening experience.\u201d \u2014 Jonathan Widran, SmoothJazz.com<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Philanthropy<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Supports hunger relief initiatives including Feed the Children; performances and releases such as Rain Song have amplified awareness and fundraising for communities in need.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Education and influences<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Berklee College of Music (audio engineering). Influences include Grover Washington Jr., David Sanborn, Kenny Garrett, Bob Mintzer, and King Curtis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Curtis Haywood delivers soulful contemporary jazz infused with Caribbean authentic steelpan rhythm integration. His smooth saxophone stylings, and live-performance energy are ideal for festivals, cultural events,<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-252","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_hostinger_reach_plugin_has_subscription_block":false,"_hostinger_reach_plugin_is_elementor":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253,"href":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/252\/revisions\/253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/curtishaywood.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}