Double bassist Cecil McBee got his start with the Paul Winter Sextet, and earned international acclaim in the mid-60s touring with Charles Lloyd and Pharoah Sanders. He went on to perform around the world with such artists as Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Bobby Hutcherson, Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins, and Joe Henderson. The recipient of two NEA composition grants, McBee has written works that are performed worldwide, and have been recorded by Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Sanders, Charles Tolliver, and many others. He won a Grammy in 1989 for his performance of Blues for John Coltrane, and was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 1991. McBee is now working on a book about technique for string bass improvisation.
B.S., clarinet/music education, Central State University (Ohio). Recordings and compositions on Blue Note, Atlantic, Impulse, United Artists, Strata East, Flying Dutchman, Enja, Galaxy, Gramavision, RPR, Choice, RCA, Columbia. Also faculty of The New School (New York).
Photo by Andrew Hurlbut