Donald Ray Payne (January 7, 1933,
Wellington, Texas
Wellington is a city and county seat of Collingsworth County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,189 at the 2010 census.
History
Sometime in 1889 or 1890, as smaller ranches and farmlands were being purchased, Ernest Theodore O'Neil, hi ...
– February 25, 2017,
Plantation, Florida
Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 91,750. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Eve ...
) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
double-bassist and electric bassist.
Payne was raised in California and first played trumpet before switching to double bass in high school. His first major gigs occurred in the mid-1950s; he worked in the second half of the decade with
Georgie Auld
Georgie Auld (May 19, 1919 – January 8, 1990) was a jazz tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader.
Early years
Auld was born John Altwerger in Toronto, Canada, and moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1929. Before the family left Canada, Auld ...
,
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
,
Maynard Ferguson
Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...
,
Calvin Jackson,
Joe Maini
Joe Maini (February 8, 1930 – May 7, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist.
Maini was born February 8, 1930 in Providence, Rhode Island. Early in his career Maini played in the big bands of Alvino Rey, Johnny Bothwell, and Claude Thornhil ...
, and
Art Pepper
Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...
. In 1958 he relocated to New York City, where he played with
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
,
Chris Connor
Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer.
Biography
Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Shir ...
, and
Mundell Lowe
James Mundell Lowe (April 21, 1922 – December 2, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician.
He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the ''Billy Jack'' soundtrac ...
, then joined
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...
and
Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto (; born Astrud Evangelina Weinert, March 29, 1940) is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She gained international attention in the 1960s following her recording of the song "The Girl from Ipanema".
Biography
Astrud Gilbert ...
for international tours. He also worked with
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...
around this time. He led his own ensemble with a rotating cast of sidemen, including
Mike Abene
Michael Abene (born July 2, 1942) is an American jazz pianist known for accompanying singers and arranging music.
Early life and education
Abene was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, grandfather, and aunt were musicians. He studied composit ...
,
Joe Beck
Joe Beck (July 29, 1945 – July 22, 2008) was an American jazz guitarist who was active for over 30 years.
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, Beck moved to Manhattan in his teens, playing six nights a week in a trio setting, which gave him an opp ...
, and
Gene Bertoncini
Gene J. Bertoncini (born 6 April 1937) is an American jazz guitarist.
Biography
Bertoncini was born in New York City, where he was raised in a musical family. His father, Mario Bertoncini (1901–1978), played guitar and harmonica. Gene began pl ...
.
Payne began playing bass guitar in 1964, and worked in popular and rock idioms as well as in jazz as a
session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
for New York studio recordings. He played on releases by
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...
,
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
,
Roy Buchanan
Leroy "Roy" Buchanan (September 23, 1939 – August 14, 1988) was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan worked as a sideman and as a solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career and two lat ...
,
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
(''
New Skin for the Old Ceremony
''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' is the fourth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1974. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars, percussion and other ...
'', 1974),
Janis Ian
Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit " Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" and the 1975 Top T ...
,
Luiz Henrique,
Harry Chapin
Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy ...
, and
Melanie Safka
Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of " Ruby Tuesday", her compositi ...
. His later jazz associations included
Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...
,
Jackie Cain
Jacqueline Ruth "Jackie" Cain (May 22, 1928 – September 15, 2014) was an American jazz singer known for her partnership with her husband in the duo Jackie and Roy. She was the sister-in-law of singer Irene Kral.
Life and career
Born in Milwau ...
, and
Roy Kral
Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin.
In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...
.
Collaborations
With
Melanie
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Gather Me
''Gather Me'' is a 1971 album released by Melanie and featuring the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles Chart #1 song "Brand New Key" (a novelty hit which also reached the #1 chart position in Canada, New Zealand and Australia between November 1971 ...
'' (Buddah, 1971)
* ''
Stoneground Words
''Stoneground Words'' is an album released by Melanie in 1972. It contains the singles "Together Alone" and "Do You Believe".
Reception
Allmusic.com praises the album as "mature, intelligent and ambitious" and an "under-heard classic".
U.K. mus ...
'' (Neighborhood, 1972)
* ''
Madrugada'' (Neighborhood, 1974)
With
Richie Havens
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...
* ''
Something Else Again
''Something Else Again'' is the second studio album by American folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens, released in January 1968. The track "Run, Shaker Life" was based on a Shaker dance song by elder Issachar Bates and reworked from Havens' ...
'' (Verve, 1968)
With
Janis Ian
Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit " Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" and the 1975 Top T ...
* ''Stars'' (Columbia Records, 1974)
* ''Aftertones'' (Columbia Records, 1975)
With
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...
* ''
Album III
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
'' (Columbia Records, 1972)
With
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
* ''
New Skin for the Old Ceremony
''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' is the fourth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1974. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars, percussion and other ...
'' (Columbia Records, 1974)
With
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
* ''
True Stories and Other Dreams
''True Stories and Other Dreams'' is the ninth studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1973. It peaked at No. 27 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums charts.
The album included Valerie Carter's " ...
'' (Elektra Records, 1973)
References
*"Don Payne". ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.
Barry Kernfeld
Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians.
Education
In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Don
1933 births
2017 deaths
People from Wellington, Texas
American jazz double-bassists
Male double-bassists
American jazz bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
20th-century American bass guitarists
Jazz musicians from Texas
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians