Cecil McBee


Cecil McBee 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.

Early life and education

McBee was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. He studied clarinet at school, but switched to bass at the age of 17, and began playing in local nightclubs. 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.

Beginnings

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.

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, Wayne Shorter, Charles Lloyd, Yusef Lateef, Keith Jarrett, Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw, and Alice Coltrane.

Later career

In the 2000s, McBee unsuccessfully sued a Japanese company that opened a chain of stores under his name. He was an artist in residence at Harvard from 2010 to 2011. 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, Pharoah Sanders/David Murray/McCoy Tyner/Cecil McBee/Roy Haynes – Winner, Best instrumental performance, individual or group, Grammy Awards, 1988.

    Discography

As leader/co-leader

With Almanac
  • ''Almanac''

    As sideman

With George Adams
  • America
With Ray Anderson
With Chet Baker
  • Blues for a Reason
With Bill Barron
With Kenny Barron
  • Landscape
  • What If?
  • Live at Fat Tuesdays
With the Bob Thiele Collective
  • Sunrise Sunset
With Joanne Brackeen
  • Snooze
  • Tring-a-Ling
  • Havin' Fun
  • Fi-Fi Goes to Heaven
  • Turnaround
With Dollar Brand
  • African Space Program
With Anthony Braxton
  • Eight Tristano Compositions, 1989: For Warne Marsh
With Roy Brooks
  • The Free Slave
With Joe Chambers
  • The Almoravid
With Alice Coltrane
With Junior Cook
  • Pressure Cooker
With Stanley Cowell
With Ted Curson
  • Blue Piccolo
With Ricky Ford
  • Looking Ahead
With Chico Freeman
  • Morning Prayer
  • Chico
  • The Outside Within
  • Kings of Mali
  • Spirit Sensitive
  • Destiny's Dance
With Hal Galper
  • Now Hear This
With Johnny Griffin
  • Birds and Ballads
With Louis Hayes
With Roy Haynes
  • Thank You Thank You
  • Vistalite
With Andrew Hill
  • Compulsion!
With Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw
  • Double Take
With Elvin Jones
  • Power Trio – with John Hicks
  • When I Was at Aso-Mountain
  • Elvin Jones Jazz Machine
  • It Don't Mean a Thing
With Clifford Jordan
  • Two Tenor Winner
With John Klemmer
  • Magic and Movement
With Prince Lasha
  • Inside Story
With Yusef Lateef
  • The Complete Yusef Lateef
  • The Blue Yusef Lateef
  • Yusef Lateef's Detroit
  • The Diverse Yusef Lateef
With The Leaders
  • Mudfoot
  • Out Here Like This
  • Heaven Dance – The Leaders Trio with pianist Kirk Lightsey and drummer Don Moye
  • Unforeseen Blessings
  • Slipping and Sliding
  • Spirits Alike
With Dave Liebman
  • The Seasons
  • John Coltrane's Meditations
With Charles Lloyd
  • Dream Weaver
  • Forest Flower
  • The Flowering
  • Charles Lloyd in Europe
With Raphe Malik
  • Storyline – with Cody Moffett
With Joe Maneri
  • Dahabenzapple
With Jackie McLean
  • It's Time!
  • Action Action Action
With Lloyd McNeill
  • Treasures
With Charles McPherson
  • New Horizons
With Grachan Moncur III
With Tisziji Munoz
  • Rendezvous With Now
  • Visiting This Planet
  • Presence of Joy
  • Divine Radiance
With Amina Claudine Myers
  • Salutes Bessie Smith
With Art Pepper
  • Winter Moon
With Dannie Richmond
  • "In" Jazz for the Culture Set
With Sam Rivers
  • Dimensions & Extensions
  • Streams
  • Hues
  • Emanation - Volume 1 of the Sam Rivers Archive Series; recorded in 1971
With Charlie Rouse
With Pharoah Sanders
  • Izipho Zam
  • Jewels of Thought
  • Thembi
  • Black Unity
  • Live at the East
  • Village of the Pharoahs
  • Love in Us All
  • Wisdom Through Music
With various artists
With Saxophone Summit
  • Gathering of Spirits
With Zbigniew Seifert
  • Man of the Light
With Woody Shaw
  • The Moontrane
  • Love Dance
  • The Iron Men with Anthony Braxton
With Archie Shepp
  • Lady Bird
With Wayne Shorter
  • Et Cetera
  • Odyssey of Iska
With Sonny Simmons
  • Burning Spirits
With Lonnie Liston Smith
  • Astral Traveling
  • Expansions
  • Rejuvenation
  • Make Someone Happy
With Buddy Tate and Dollar Brand
  • Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand
With Leon Thomas
With Horace Tapscott
  • The Dark Tree, Vol. 1 & 2
With Charles Tolliver
  • Live at Slugs, Volume I & II
  • Music Inc.
  • Impact
  • With Love
With Mickey Tucker
  • Sojourn
  • Mister Mysterious
With McCoy Tyner
  • Quartets 4 X 4
  • Blues for Coltrane
With James "Blood" Ulmer
  • Revealing
With Mal Waldron
  • What It Is
With Michael White
  • The Land of Spirit and Light
With Paul Winter
  • Jazz Meets the Folk-Song
With Yōsuke Yamashita
  • Sakura
  • Kurdish Dance
  • Dazzling Days
  • Fragments 1999
  • Spider
  • Delightful Contrast
With Denny Zeitlin
  • Cathexis
With Norman Connors'
  • ''Dance of Magic''