Cecil Payne

Cecil Payne was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. He also played alto saxophone and flute. Payne performed with Dizzy Gillespie and Randy Weston, among others, and led his own groups. He received his first saxophone at age 13 after hearing Count Basie perform "Honeysuckle Rose" with a solo by Lester Young.

He studied with local alto saxophonist Pete Brown and attended Boys High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant. His professional recording career began in 1946 with J. J. Johnson on the Savoy label. That year he also played with Roy Eldridge, through whom he met Dizzy Gillespie. Payne worked with Gillespie until 1949, performing solos on "Ow!" and "Stay On It".

In the early 1950s he worked with Tadd Dameron and then with Illinois Jacquet from 1952 to 1954. He subsequently freelanced in New York City and frequently performed with Randy Weston until 1960. Payne continued recording for Delmark Records into his 70s and beyond. He was a cousin of trumpeter Marcus Belgrave.

During the 1950s he helped run his father's real estate company. His parents had urged him to consider dentistry, but he countered that no one would entrust teeth to a "Dr. Payne". He died in Stratford, New Jersey, from prostate cancer at age 84.