Saxophonist was a master of bebop

Cecil Payne, 84, a baritone saxophonist and leading exponent of the bebop style of jazz, died Nov. 27 at a nursing home in Stratford, N.J., the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., reported. The cause of death was not announced.

Highly regarded by his peers, Payne spent most of his career as a sideman. He never led a band and recorded relatively few albums as a leader. But his mastering of bebop’s intricacies on the cumbersome baritone saxophone gave him a lasting place in jazz history.

A native of Brooklyn, Payne grew up in a musical family, playing guitar and studying alto saxophone. By the time he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s classic bebop band in 1946, he was playing baritone saxophone.

According to the All Music Guide, Payne made his reputation in Gillespie’s band and played on almost all of the orchestra’s famous recordings. His solos can be heard on Gillespie’s RCA Victor recordings “Ow” and “Stay On It.”

Payne later played with such jazz giants as Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie and Woody Herman and was a soloist with Machito’s Afro-Cuban band in the 1960s.

He continued to play into the 1980s, and his recordings as a leader can be found on the Savoy, Signal, Muse and Delmark record labels. His six-decade career was cut short by health issues.