Cecil McBee
| Cecil McBee | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 19, 1935 |
| Origin | Tulsa, OK, United States |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Double bass |
| Associated acts | Dinah Washington, Paul Winter, Miles Davis, Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers, Jackie McLean, Wayne Shorter, Charles Lloyd, Yusef Lateef, Keith Jarrett, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Alice Coltrane |
Cecil McBee (born May 19, 1935) is an American post bop jazz bassist, described by the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz as "a full-toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts."[1] Allmusic called him "One of post-bop's most advanced and versatile bassists".[2]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
McBee was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 19 May 1935. He studied clarinet at school, but switched to bass at the age of 17, and began playing in local nightclubs. After gaining a music degree from Ohio Central State University, he spent two years in the army, during which time he conducted the band at Fort Knox. In 1959 he played with Dinah Washington, and in 1962 he moved to Detroit, where he worked with Paul Winter's folk-rock ensemble in 1963-1964. His jazz career began in earnest in the mid-1960s, after he moved to New York, when he began playing and recording with a number of significant musicians including Miles Davis, Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers, Jackie McLean (1964), Wayne Shorter (1965–66), Charles Lloyd (1966), Yusef Lateef (1967–69), Keith Jarrett, Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw (1986), and Alice Coltrane (1969–1972).
He established his own group in 1975, and has made a number of recordings under his own name, but is best known for his work as a sideman; he continues to be in high demand, and has gone on to work with many jazz musicians.
McBee was a member of the group Almanac, with Bennie Maupin (flute, tenor saxophone), Mike Nock (piano) and Eddie Marshall (drums). The group released one album in 1977.
In the 2000s, McBee unsuccessfully sued a Japanese company that opened a chain of stores under his name.[3]
He teaches at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts.
[edit] Grammy awards
Pharoah Sanders/David Murray/McCoy Tyner/Cecil McBee/Roy Haynes, Blues for Coltrane: A Tribute to John Coltrane (MCA, 1987) Winner, Best instrumental performance, individual or group, Grammy Awards, 1988.
[edit] Discography
[edit] As leader
- 1975: Mutima (Strata-East Records)
- 1977: Music from the Source (Enja Records)
- 1977: Compassion (Enja)
- 1979: Alternate Spaces (India Navigation)
- 1982: Flying Out (India Navigation)
- 1997: Unpsoken (Palmetto Records)
[edit] As sideman
- Sunrise Sunset (1990)
With Charles Lloyd
- Dream Weaver (1966, Atlantic)
- Forest Flower (1966, Atlantic)
- The Flowering (1966, Atlantic)
- Charles Lloyd in Europe (1966, Atlantic)
With Pharoah Sanders
- Thembi (Impulse! Records, 1970)
- Black Unity (Impulse!, 1971)
- Live at the East (Impulse!, 1972)
- Village of the Pharoahs (Impulse!, 1973)
- Love in Us All (Impulse!, 1973)
With Chico Freeman
- Morning Prayer (1976)
- Chico (1977)
With Sam Rivers
- Dimensions & Extensions (Blue Note, 1967)
- Streams (Impulse!, 1973)
- Hues (Impulse!, 1973)
With Buddy Tate and Dollar Brand
- Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand (Chiaroscuro Records, 1977)
With Yōsuke Yamashita'
- Sakura (Verve, 1990)
- Kurdish Dance (Verve, 1993)
- Dazzling Days (Verve, 1993)
- Fragments 1999 (Verve, 1999)
- Spider (Verve, 1996)
- Delightful Contrast (Universal, 2011)
With others
- Paul Winter, Jazz Meets the Folk-Song (1963)
- Jackie McLean, It's Time! (Blue Note, 1964)
- Jackie McLean, Action Action Action (Blue Note Records, 1964)
- Grachan Moncur III, Some Other Stuff (Blue Note, 1964)
- Andrew Hill, Compulsion! (Blue Note Records, 1965)
- Wayne Shorter, Et Cetera (Blue Note Records, 1965)
- Dannie Richmond: "In" Jazz for the Culture Set (Impulse!, 1965)
- Mike Nock, Almanac (Improvising Artists, 1967)
- Yusef Lateef, The Blue Yusef Lateef (1968)
- Leon Thomas, Spirits Known and Unknown (1969)
- Wayne Shorter, Odyssey of Iska (Blue Note Records, 1970)
- Alice Coltrane, Journey in Satchidananda (Impulse Records, 1970)
- Sam Rivers, Hues (1970)
- Dollar Brand, African Space Program (Enja, 1973)
- John Klemmer, Magic and Movement (Impulse!, 1974)
- Lonnie Liston Smith, Expansions (1974)
- Joanne Brackeen, Snooze (Choice, 1975)
- The 360 Degree Music Experience, In: Sanity (Black Saint, 1976)
- Lloyd McNeill, Treasures (1976)
- James "Blood" Ulmer, Revealing (1977)
- Archie Shepp, Lady Bird (Denon, 1978)
- Johnny Griffin, Birds and Ballads (1978)
- McCoy Tyner, Quartets 4 X 4 (Milestone, 1980)
- Amina Claudine Myers, Salutes Bessie Smith (Leo, 1980)
- Art Pepper, Winter Moon (Original Jazz Classics, 1980)
- Mal Waldron: What It Is (Enja, 1981)
- Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw, Double Take (Blue Note, 1986).
- Muhal Richard Abrams, Roots of Blue (RPR, 1986). Duet album with McBee.
- The Leaders: Mudfoot (Black Hawk, 1986)
- The Leaders: Out Here Like This (Black Saint, 1987)
- McCoy Tyner, Blues for Coltrane (1987).
- The Leaders: Unforeseen Blessings (Black Saint, 1988)
- The Leaders Trio, Heaven Dance (Sunnyside, 1988).With pianist Kirk Lightsey and drummer Don Moye.
- Horace Tapscott, The Dark Tree, Vol. 1 & 2 (hatOLOGY, 1989)
- Anthony Braxton, Eight (+3) Tristano Compositions, 1989: For Warne Marsh (hatArt, 1989)
- John Hicks with Elvin Jones, Power Trio (Novus, 1990)
- Dave Liebman, The Seasons (Soul Note, 1992)
- Elvin Jones, Jazz Machine (Trio, 1997)
- Dave Liebman, John Coltrane's 'Meditations' (Arkadia Jazz, 1998)
- Raphe Malik/Cecil McBee/Cody Moffett, Storyline (Boxholder, 1999)
- Saxophone Summit (Michael Brecker/Joe Lovano/Dave Liebman), Gathering of Spirits (Telarc, 2004)
- Zbigniew Seifert, "Man of the Light" (Promising Music, 2010)
- The Leaders: Spirits Alike (Double Moon, 2007)
[edit] References
- ^ Second Edition, ed. Colin Larkin, 1995
- ^ allmusic ((( Cecil McBee > Biography )))
- ^ McBee v. Delica Co., 417 F.3d 107 (1st Cir. 2005)
