Cynthia Sayer

Cynthia Nan Sayer is a jazz banjoist and singer and a founding member of Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band.

Cynthia Sayer
Sketch at Jazz in Marciac festival, France
Background information
Born (1962-05-20) May 20, 1962
Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
GenresJazz, classical
Occupation(s)Musician, singer
InstrumentsBanjo
Years active1979–present
LabelsJazzology
Websitewww.cynthiasayer.com

Career

A native of Waltham, Massachusetts, Sayer spent her early childhood in Wayland, Massachusetts and the remainder of her youth in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.[1] She played piano from the age of six through her college years and also studied viola, drums, guitar, and banjo.[2] She graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in 1974 and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2016.[3] She sang in school and community theater and graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in English.[2] Sayer has worked with Woody Allen, Milt Hinton, Dick Hyman, Bucky Pizzarelli, George Segal, Dick Wellstood, and the New York Philharmonic.[2]

She appeared in Wild Man Blues (a documentary about Woody Allen) and on its soundtrack, and on the album The Bunk Project (1993). She performed in Allen's movies The Purple Rose of Cairo, Bullets Over Broadway, Anything Else, and Magic in the Moonlight. She played on the soundtrack to The Cosby Mysteries and recorded with Marvin Hamlisch on the soundtrack for the movie Sophie's Choice. She has been a guest on Piano Jazz on NPR, NDR Talk Show in Germany, Woman's Hour in England, Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour, and the documentary PBS documentary Give Me the Banjo. She has performed at the White House, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall.

Sayer has performed programs about early jazz and the four-string banjo at colleges, taught workshops while on tour, and given private lessons. She taught traditional jazz ensemble workshops for Jane Ira Bloom's class at the New School of Music. She has written for All Frets, Just Jazz, and The Resonator, the quarterly newsletter for the non-profit group Banjos Unlimited.

Award and honors
  • National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame, 2006

Discography
  • The Jazz Banjo of Cynthia Sayer Vol. 1 (New York Jazz, 1987)
  • More Jazz Banjo Vol. 2 (New York Jazz, 1989)
  • Forward Moves (Yerba Buena, 1992)
  • Jazz at Home (Jazzology, 1997)
  • String Swing (Jazzology, 2000)
  • Souvenirs (Plunk, 2002)
  • Attractions with Bucky Pizzarelli (Plunk, 2007)
  • Joyride (Plunk, 2013)

With the New York Banjo Ensemble

  • Plays Gershwin (Kicking Mule, 1982)

As guest

See also

References
  1. Kanzler, George. "Cynthia Sayer brings friends and banjo to Zinno.", The Star-Ledger, April 24, 1998, p. 32. "When she was growing up in Scotch Plains in the '60s and '70s, Cynthia Sayer wanted to be a big- band drummer."
  2. Yanow, Scott (2008). The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide. Backbeat. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-87930-825-4.
  3. Conklin, Sean. "Scenes from 2016 Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Hall of Fame Induction", TAPinto.net, November 16, 2016. Accessed August 12, 2019. "Cynthia Sayer, Class of 1974, an international jazz banjoist, vocalist, concert and recording artist and entertainer who performed at the White House."

Sources
  • The Mississippi Rag, "Cynthia Sayer, Banjoist from the Big Apple", by George A. Borgman, June 1994.
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