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 jazz albums.

Biography

Early life and career

McBee was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 19, 1935. 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, he spent two years in the army, during which time he conducted the band at Fort Knox. In 1959 he played with Dinah Washington, and in 1962 he moved to Detroit, where he worked with Paul Winter's folk-rock ensemble in 1963–64.

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

As leader

With George Adams
With Ray Anderson
With Chet Baker
With Bill Barron
With Kenny Barron
With the Bob Thiele Collective
With Joanne Brackeen
With Dollar Brand
With Anthony Braxton
With Roy Brooks
With Joe Chambers
  • The Almoravid
With Alice Coltrane
  • Journey in Satchidananda
With Junior Cook
  • Pressure Cooker
With Stanley Cowell
  • Equipoise
  • Close to You Alone
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
  • 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
  • Some Other Stuff
With Tisziji Munoz
  • Visiting This Planet
  • Presence of Joy
  • Divine Radiance
With Amina Claudine Myers
  • Salutes Bessie Smith
With Almanac
  • Almanac
With Art Pepper
  • Winter Moon
With Dannie Richmond
  • "In" Jazz for the Culture Set
With Sam Rivers
  • Dimensions & Extensions
  • Streams
  • Hues
With Charlie Rouse
With Buddy Tate and Dollar Brand
  • Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand
With Pharoah Sanders
  • Izipho Zam
  • Jewels of Thought
  • Thembi
  • Black Unity
  • Live at the East
  • Village of the Pharoahs
  • Love in Us All
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
With Leon Thomas
  • Spirits Known and Unknown
With Charles Tolliver
With Mickey Tucker
With McCoy Tyner
With James "Blood" Ulmer
With Mal Waldron
With Michael White
With Paul Winter
With Yōsuke Yamashita
With Denny Zeitlin