Cecil Payne
Cecil Payne |
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Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was a jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, NY. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other jazz greats, in particular Dizzy Gillespie and Randy Weston, in addition to his solo work as bandleader.
Biography
Early life
Payne received his first saxophone at age 13, asking his father for one after hearing Honeysuckle Rose by Count Basie, performed by Lester Young. Payne took lessons from a local alto sax player, Pete Brown.
Career
Payne began his professional recording career with J. J. Johnson on the Savoy label in 1946. During that year he was also began playing with Roy Eldridge, through whom he met Dizzy Gillespie. His earlier recordings would largely fall under the swing category, until Gillespie hired him. Payne stayed onboard until 1949, heard performing solos on "Ow!" and "Stay On It". In the early 1950s he found himself working with Tadd Dameron, and worked with Illinois Jacquet from 1952 to 1954. He then started freelance work in New York and frequently performed during this period with Randy Weston, with whom Payne worked with until 1960. [1] Payne was still recording regularly for Delmark Records in the 1990s, when he was in his seventies, and indeed on into the new millennium.
Personal life
Payne was a cousin of trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, whom he recorded with briefly.[2] Aside from his career in music Payne helped run his father's real estate company during the 1950s.[3] Payne once said that his parents urged him to consider dentistry as a career. He countered their suggestion by pointing out that no one would ever entrust his or her teeth to a "Dr. Payne."[4]
Partial Discography
- Randy Weston Jazz a la Bohemia (1956) The Randy Weston Trio plus Payne
- Patterns of Jazz (1957) his debut album Savoy Records
- Performing Charlie Parker Music (1961) (Collectables)
- Cerupa (1993) (Delmark-478)
- Scotch and Milk (1997) (Delmark DE-494)
- Payne's Window (1999) (Delmark DE-509)
- The Brooklyn Four Plus One (1999) (Progressive)
- Chic Boom: Live at the Jazz Showcase (2001) (Delmark DE-529) with tenor player Eric Alexander.
References
- ^ Gitler, Ira (2001). The Masters of Bebop: A Listener's Guide. Da Capo Press. p. 40, 41. ISBN 0306810093.
- ^ Yanow, Scott (2001). Trumpet Kings: The Players Who Shaped the Sound. Backbeat Books. p. 49. ISBN 0879306084.
- ^ "Ibid"; Gitler, Ira
- ^ Cecil Payne at the Up Over Jazz Cafe, Brooklyn, N.Y. 2000
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