Jazz Musician Curtis Haywood

Curtis Haywood II is one of the most talented and outstanding jazz musicians of today. The Brooklyn, New York native was raised in a two parent household, along with his five siblings. His interest in music began at an early age, between his first and third-grade school levels. He started out playing drums, then trumpet, and would later end up on the saxophone. Haywood attended Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts.

“It was a phenomenal experience going to that school,” says Haywood of the public alternative school. “It was a small setting, very tightly knit. I just absolutely knew from day one that music was what I wanted to do.” He attributes his music career to his dad, as the two studied music together, side by side. Coming from a family of musical talents; however, he was the only one who took it to a professional level. “Early on, I could see how I excelled in music and I could see that it was the most prominent thing that I knew how to do and I knew how to do it well.”

Haywood’s advice to young people who are trying to find their way, is to really zero in on any gifting which they may have. “Whatever God has gifted you to do, that is primarily the calling He has put on you to do,” he says. We all have a primary and secondary gift, but look for the gifting you most excel at, which will be the one that comes the easiest to you and that’s the one you should be pursuing. It really is an internal search.”

In our interview, he told us that his favorite instrument is clearly the saxophone. He said he had a love for bass and drums and if it weren’t for his love for the saxophone, he would have been a bass drummer. “The saxophone is my voice. That is clearly a voice that I speak very well,” says Haywood. He talked to us about his latest CD called “Smooth Ingredients” which consists a variety of flavors; Latin, Reggae, R&B, which are the staples of the ingredients; the terms that make up slow jazz. A gospel crossover song is also on the CD. The CD will be officially released first in Barbados at the Gospel Fest and then in the United States on May 30th, when he will open up for Pieces of A Dream, one of the pioneers of smooth jazz. Their mentor, Grover Washington Jr., was also Haywood’s main influence. “I listened to him in the 70’s and 80’s; especially in the 80’s when he was making his mark,” he said.

Haywood has opened for such music greats as The Stylistics, The Temptations, The Delfonics and Blue Magic to name a few. He caters his music based on the crowd he is playing for. His musical talent isn’t only on the stage, as he is also a music teacher at a high school and he teaches privately. That’s his connection to the local community; working with high school and elementary students, exposing them to jazz. One of his fond memories is when he opened up for comedian Sinbad, playing an all-time favorite hit “When a Man Loves a Woman.”

Haywood’s advice to those seeking to become a jazz musician is, depending on what style of jazz you play, is that you must have a strategy. “You hear of people having a Plan A and a Plan B, but in the entertainment industry, you absolutely have to have a strategy of how you’re going to eat and how you’re going to survive,” he explains. “There’s really no method or strategy in terms of the entertainment industry. You can’t just say you have to do that, you have to do this. I come at it from a practical stance. Earlier, I spoke of primary and secondary gifts. Quite frankly, most of the times if you want to get into the entertainment industry, you have to design a lifestyle that is based possibly on your secondary gifts. You may have to get a so-called real job, but you would have to be creative enough to find a career that would give you the flexibility and income because you have to eat. I don’t get into you have to do this and you have to do that because that’s all circumstantial. There is no guarantee, but what you have to make sure of, is that you can eat and you can survive while you pursue your music.” To find out more information, go to www.curtishaywood.com. (Photo Courteousy of Curtis Haywood)