Andre Hayward will join Wycliffe Gordon onstage during the Friday night show of Jazz Port Townsend.

Born in Houston, Texas in 1973, Hayward began playing trombone and tuba at the age of 11 under the tutelage of Leon Schreiber and two years later with Bob Odneal, the lead trumpeter for Maynard Ferguson.

Hayward continued playing through high school where he attended the High School for Performing and Visual Arts under the direction of notable jazz educator Robert “Doc” Morgan. He continued to hone his skills with Houston’s legendary educator Conrad O. Johnson. It was Conrad’s instruction, and the opportunity to work in his big band “The Big Blue Sound,” where he really started to gain experience working in an ensemble.

He landed his first engagement with trumpeter Roy Hargrove for a European tour after being heard at a jam session during a festival while playing with the Texas Southern University Jazz Ensemble. After Hargrove, Hayward performed and recorded with singer/bandleader Betty Carter for five years in her acclaimed “Jazz Ahead”program. Other acclaimed performers include Joe Williams, Slide Hampton, John Lewis, Mingus Dynasty Big Band, Gerald Wilson, Kirk Whalum, Jimmy Heath, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and Illinois Jacquet’s Big Band.

His most recent performance credits are The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra of eight years. He is also a new member of The San Francisco Jazz Collective led by Joshua Redman.

Hayward is also an educator who has conducted numerous clinics and workshops in various parts of the US and overseas. He serves as adjunct trombone professor at both The New England Conservatory and New York University.