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Langston Hughes II is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader based in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
The pursuit of music for Langston has been the result of a lifelong passion made reality. Beginning in his grade school years, Langston discovered a fascination for music. Despite originally perceiving his love of music as merely a hobby, with a plan to study engineering in college, he recognized music was undeniably intertwined with his sense of being. He trusted his faith, took a leap, and committed to his future career as a musician. With the help of peers, teachers, and mentors, Langston emerged with a reinvigorated spirit that assured him that he was on his destined path.
Langston is currently an undergraduate student at Howard University in Washington, DC studying saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He continues to develop his skills, knowledge, and creative thinking under the tutelage of esteemed professor Charlie Young III and other mentors such as Cyrus Chestnut, Bruce Williams, Tim Green, Allyn Johnson, Leigh Pilzer, and others.
Langston’s years of experience and growing technical and creative skills have culminated into a distinctive sound that emanates with beauty, passion, and positivity. He views his concept and approach as being more than a genre, but a translation of his life experiences. Langston channels his upbringing in the church with his love for jazz to create a distinctive, dynamic sound and style. In his young, yet blossoming, career, Langston has been the recipient of an array of prestigious awards, achievements, and competitions cementing him as a musical focus. He has been a featured soloist for the United States Army Blues Orchestra, selected as one of Strathmore’s Artists in Residence during their 2021-2022 performance season, and most recently, Langston was selected to participate in The Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency under the direction of Jason Moran. Programs like these have allowed Langston to work with and learn from jazz greats such as Jason Moran, Marcus Printup, Peter Martin, Clarence Penn, Casey Benjamin, Micheal Bowie, Chris Thomas, Chamille Thurman, and more.
Since 2019, Langston has worked alongside the Foundation for the Advancement of Music and Education and began serving as ensemble director along with teaching private and group saxophone lessons.
Langston’s past and present teachers have instilled in him the importance of mentorship and have inspired him to pass along the knowledge, experiences, and stories of great musicians of our past so that the music can live on.
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Langston Hughes II is a Washington D.C based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader creating inspirational original compositions and reimaginings of classic songs. What was once a hobby became a clearly destined path for Langston, as he transformed his musical hobbies into a flourishing career. Langston is currently a student at Howard University in Washington, DC studying under the tutelage of Charlie Young III, and continues to develop his skills, knowledge, and creative thinking through teachers and mentors such as Cyrus Chestnut, Allyn Johnson, Bruce Williams, Tim Green, and others.
His music radiates beauty, passion, and positivity. With each piece he performs or composition he writes, he invites us to share in his life experiences. His work honors the iconic musicians that influenced him but also embodies a distinctive sound inspired by his faith. Langston has been the recipient of an array of awards and achievements including a featured soloist for the United States Army Blues Orchestra, a Strathmore Artist in Residence during their 2021-2022 performance season, and he recently was selected to participate in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency at the John F. Kennedy Center where he studied under jazz greats such as Jason Moran, Marcus Printup, Peter Martin, Clarence Penn, Casey Benjamin, Micheal Bowie, Chris Thomas, Chamille Thurman, and more.
