Cecil McBee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cecil McBee | |
|---|---|
 Cecil McBee, The Cookers at Nice 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | May 19, 1935 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Double bass |
| Labels | Strata-East, Enja, India Navigation, Palmetto |
Cecil McBee (born May 19, 1935)[1] is an American jazz bassist. He has recorded as a leader only a handful of times since the 1970s, but has contributed as a sideman to a number of classic jazz albums.
Beginnings
McBee was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States.[1] He studied clarinet at school, but switched to bass at the age of 17, and began playing in local nightclubs.[1] After gaining a music degree from Ohio Central State University, McBee spent two years in the U.S. Army, during which time he conducted the band at Fort Knox.[1]
In 1959, he played with Dinah Washington, and in 1962 he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked with Paul Winter's folk-rock ensemble between 1963 and 1964.[1]
New York
His jazz career began to take off in the mid-1960s, after he moved to New York, when he began playing and recording with a number of significant musicians including Miles Davis, Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers, Jackie McLean (1964), Wayne Shorter (1965–66), Charles Lloyd (1966), Yusef Lateef (1967–69), Keith Jarrett, Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw (1986), and Alice Coltrane (1969–72).[1]
Later career
In the 2000s, McBee unsuccessfully sued a Japanese company that opened a chain of stores under his name.[2] He was an artist in residence at Harvard from 2010 to 2011.[3] He teaches at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts.
Awards
- 1991 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.
Grammys
- Blues for Coltrane: A Tribute to John Coltrane (MCA, 1987), Pharoah Sanders/David Murray/McCoy Tyner/Cecil McBee/Roy Haynes – Winner, Best instrumental performance, individual or group, Grammy Awards, 1988.
