Biography
Marion Hayden ranks among the small number of women who have built careers as jazz bassists, choosing to remain based locally as she became one of the most consistent instrumentalists across the Midwestern United States. She was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1952 to parents Marion and Herbert Hayden, the latter an enthusiastic record collector who also played jazz piano. Raised on the industrial west side of the Motor City, she began piano lessons at age nine and switched to upright acoustic bass at twelve. During the summer Metro Arts program she encountered Wendell Harrison and Marcus Belgrave, musicians who would serve as teachers and, later, lifelong collaborators.
Hayden completed studies at Cass Tech High School before graduating from Henry Ford High School, attended classes at Michigan State University and then the University of Michigan, and earned a liberal arts degree with a minor in entomology. She accepted a post with the Michigan Department of Agriculture while continuing to perform jazz nightly alongside Belgrave, pianist Charles Boles, Teddy Harris, Jr., the Jimmy Wilkins Orchestra, Buddy Budson, LaMonte Hamilton, saxophonist George Benson, Marvin “Doc” Holladay, Randy Gelispie, Donald Walden, Kenn Cox, and Stan Booker.
After growing briefly disillusioned with the Detroit jazz scene in the early 1980s, she stepped away for two years, only to return through renewed work with Cox and, most significantly, master percussionist Roy Brooks in his group the Artistic Truth. While married to guitarist Bill Banfield she participated in joint projects that incorporated symphonic and cinematic scores informed by her classical training.
Her visibility increased as a founding member of the all-female ensemble Venus and then through Straight Ahead, formed in partnership with Regina Carter. Once the band signed with Atlantic Records its personnel shifted; as Carter pursued a solo path and vocalist Michelle Braden was succeeded by Cynthia Dewberry, Hayden continued with pianist Eileen Orr and drummer Gayelynn McKinney. Changing commercial conditions for jazz prompted her to expand into both R&B and mainstream settings.
That breadth produced an array of engagements and simultaneously allowed her to establish herself as a respected educator. She became professor of bass instruction in the jazz department at Tri-C College in Cleveland, Ohio, and joined the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music. She has performed or recorded with Kirk Lightsey, Ralph Peterson, Jr., Terry Callier, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Fortune, Kenny Burrell, Steve Turre, Cecil Bridgewater, fellow Detroiter James Carter, and many other professionals who have appeared in the region.
Straight Ahead has retained a local profile beyond its recordings, while Hayden also appears with saxophonist Allen Barnes’ band and belongs to the Modern Jazz Messengers directed by drummer Sean Dobbins. Her solo album Visions appeared in 2008, and she has written a suite based on the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley.
Hayden completed studies at Cass Tech High School before graduating from Henry Ford High School, attended classes at Michigan State University and then the University of Michigan, and earned a liberal arts degree with a minor in entomology. She accepted a post with the Michigan Department of Agriculture while continuing to perform jazz nightly alongside Belgrave, pianist Charles Boles, Teddy Harris, Jr., the Jimmy Wilkins Orchestra, Buddy Budson, LaMonte Hamilton, saxophonist George Benson, Marvin “Doc” Holladay, Randy Gelispie, Donald Walden, Kenn Cox, and Stan Booker.
After growing briefly disillusioned with the Detroit jazz scene in the early 1980s, she stepped away for two years, only to return through renewed work with Cox and, most significantly, master percussionist Roy Brooks in his group the Artistic Truth. While married to guitarist Bill Banfield she participated in joint projects that incorporated symphonic and cinematic scores informed by her classical training.
Her visibility increased as a founding member of the all-female ensemble Venus and then through Straight Ahead, formed in partnership with Regina Carter. Once the band signed with Atlantic Records its personnel shifted; as Carter pursued a solo path and vocalist Michelle Braden was succeeded by Cynthia Dewberry, Hayden continued with pianist Eileen Orr and drummer Gayelynn McKinney. Changing commercial conditions for jazz prompted her to expand into both R&B and mainstream settings.
That breadth produced an array of engagements and simultaneously allowed her to establish herself as a respected educator. She became professor of bass instruction in the jazz department at Tri-C College in Cleveland, Ohio, and joined the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music. She has performed or recorded with Kirk Lightsey, Ralph Peterson, Jr., Terry Callier, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Fortune, Kenny Burrell, Steve Turre, Cecil Bridgewater, fellow Detroiter James Carter, and many other professionals who have appeared in the region.
Straight Ahead has retained a local profile beyond its recordings, while Hayden also appears with saxophonist Allen Barnes’ band and belongs to the Modern Jazz Messengers directed by drummer Sean Dobbins. Her solo album Visions appeared in 2008, and she has written a suite based on the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley.
Albums