Biography
Cecil Payne earned widespread admiration from fellow musicians and reviewers alike as one of the standout baritone saxophonists during the bebop years, though his legacy rests primarily on the three-year period he spent inside Dizzy Gillespie's landmark postwar orchestra.
Born December 14, 1922, in Brooklyn, New York, he first picked up the saxophone at age thirteen after being captivated by Lester Young's contribution to Count Basie's "Honeysuckle Rose." The supple, lilting character of Young's sound continued to shape Payne's approach across his entire career.
Following lessons with the neighborhood altoist Pete Brown, he performed in several Brooklyn ensembles until receiving his induction notice in 1942. The next four years were spent in a U.S. Army band, after which he made his first recording appearance on Savoy, supporting J.J. Johnson. While working briefly with Roy Eldridge, Payne set aside the alto saxophone and committed to the baritone for the first time.
Later the same year he entered the Gillespie orchestra, where his uncommonly fluid handling of an instrument long considered cumbersome quickly drew notice. He can be heard on nearly all of Gillespie's important sides from this era, among them "Cubano-Be/Cubano-Bop," and he contributes solos to tracks such as "Ow!" and "Stay on It." Despite the esteem he commanded within jazz circles, Payne stayed a largely overlooked figure for most of his life.
Leaving the Gillespie fold in 1949, he led a Decca date featuring pianist Duke Jordan and trumpeter Kenny Dorham. After periods alongside Tadd Dameron and Coleman Hawkins, he began a two-year association with Illinois Jacquet in 1952, then visited Sweden in 1956 with his childhood acquaintance Randy Weston. That year also produced the Savoy album Patterns of Jazz under Payne's name. In 1957 he and fellow baritonist Pepper Adams appeared on John Coltrane's Dakar.
Soon afterward Payne stepped away from music to join his father's real-estate company, remaining absent from the bandstand until 1960. The next year he became part of Jack Gelber's off-Broadway production The Connection, whose depiction of street-level narcotics included live jazz performances. He next toured Europe inside Lionel Hampton's ensemble before again returning to real-estate work.
Only a few sessions followed over the ensuing years, the most notable being the 1969 Strata-East album Zodiac. He nevertheless stayed in demand as a sideman, performing with Machito between 1963 and 1966 and then spending two years with Woody Herman. In 1969 he joined Count Basie, remaining for three years.
Throughout the 1970s Payne moved in and out of public view, recording for Xanadu and Muse and becoming a member of the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra in 1974. He also traveled to Europe with the theatrical presentation The Musical Life of Charlie Parker. During the 1980s his primary focus became Dameronia, the group drummer Philly Joe Jones had assembled to honor Tadd Dameron's music. Payne stayed with the ensemble for the rest of the decade, taking on larger responsibilities after Jones died in 1985. He also returned to Jacquet for an extended engagement and led his own sextet, Bebop Generation, on New York club dates.
In the early 1990s he recorded several well-received albums for Delmark. As the decade progressed, however, he appeared to withdraw from activity until friends located him living alone in his Brooklyn house, nearly sightless and subsisting on very little. A fiercely self-reliant individual, Payne accepted support from the Jazz Foundation of America only reluctantly, yet his condition improved rapidly and he soon resumed performing. He continued to play regularly into his eighties and died November 27, 2007, weeks before his eighty-fifth birthday.
Born December 14, 1922, in Brooklyn, New York, he first picked up the saxophone at age thirteen after being captivated by Lester Young's contribution to Count Basie's "Honeysuckle Rose." The supple, lilting character of Young's sound continued to shape Payne's approach across his entire career.
Following lessons with the neighborhood altoist Pete Brown, he performed in several Brooklyn ensembles until receiving his induction notice in 1942. The next four years were spent in a U.S. Army band, after which he made his first recording appearance on Savoy, supporting J.J. Johnson. While working briefly with Roy Eldridge, Payne set aside the alto saxophone and committed to the baritone for the first time.
Later the same year he entered the Gillespie orchestra, where his uncommonly fluid handling of an instrument long considered cumbersome quickly drew notice. He can be heard on nearly all of Gillespie's important sides from this era, among them "Cubano-Be/Cubano-Bop," and he contributes solos to tracks such as "Ow!" and "Stay on It." Despite the esteem he commanded within jazz circles, Payne stayed a largely overlooked figure for most of his life.
Leaving the Gillespie fold in 1949, he led a Decca date featuring pianist Duke Jordan and trumpeter Kenny Dorham. After periods alongside Tadd Dameron and Coleman Hawkins, he began a two-year association with Illinois Jacquet in 1952, then visited Sweden in 1956 with his childhood acquaintance Randy Weston. That year also produced the Savoy album Patterns of Jazz under Payne's name. In 1957 he and fellow baritonist Pepper Adams appeared on John Coltrane's Dakar.
Soon afterward Payne stepped away from music to join his father's real-estate company, remaining absent from the bandstand until 1960. The next year he became part of Jack Gelber's off-Broadway production The Connection, whose depiction of street-level narcotics included live jazz performances. He next toured Europe inside Lionel Hampton's ensemble before again returning to real-estate work.
Only a few sessions followed over the ensuing years, the most notable being the 1969 Strata-East album Zodiac. He nevertheless stayed in demand as a sideman, performing with Machito between 1963 and 1966 and then spending two years with Woody Herman. In 1969 he joined Count Basie, remaining for three years.
Throughout the 1970s Payne moved in and out of public view, recording for Xanadu and Muse and becoming a member of the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra in 1974. He also traveled to Europe with the theatrical presentation The Musical Life of Charlie Parker. During the 1980s his primary focus became Dameronia, the group drummer Philly Joe Jones had assembled to honor Tadd Dameron's music. Payne stayed with the ensemble for the rest of the decade, taking on larger responsibilities after Jones died in 1985. He also returned to Jacquet for an extended engagement and led his own sextet, Bebop Generation, on New York club dates.
In the early 1990s he recorded several well-received albums for Delmark. As the decade progressed, however, he appeared to withdraw from activity until friends located him living alone in his Brooklyn house, nearly sightless and subsisting on very little. A fiercely self-reliant individual, Payne accepted support from the Jazz Foundation of America only reluctantly, yet his condition improved rapidly and he soon resumed performing. He continued to play regularly into his eighties and died November 27, 2007, weeks before his eighty-fifth birthday.
Albums
Performing Charlie Parker Music
2023
Cecil Payne Performing Charlie Parker Music / The Connection
2021
The Brooklyn Four Plus One
2000
Payne's Window
1999
Scotch & Milk
1996
Cerupa
1993
The Connection
1962
Performing Charlie Parker
1961
Live
