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For Cynthia's performance dates, please click here.
"ATTRACTIONS" is available on iTunes and other digital distributors, or the CD can be ordered on www.cynthiasayer.com
2008: "ATTRACTIONS" nominated for Swing Journal Disc Award in Japan
2007: "ATTRACTIONS" selected for "Best CDs of 2007" list by Jazz Journal Association.
Cynthia Sayer is internationally acclaimed as one of the leading jazz banjoists, and is also known for her vocal, entertaining and multi-instrumental talents. Ms. Sayer has worked with such artists as Woody Allen, Dick Hyman, Milt Hinton, Bill Cosby, George Segal, Wynton Marsalis, Les Paul, Odetta, Marvin Hamlisch, Bucky Pizzarelli, Kenny Davern, Dick Wellstood, Bob Wilber, Doc Cheatham, Warren Vaché, Ken Peplowski, and many others. She tours regularly and is featured in concert and at festivals worldwide.
Cynthia is a 10 year veteran of Woody Allen’s New Orleans Jazz Band, on piano & vocals. She appeared in "Wild Man Blues," the award-winning feature film documentary about Woody Allen and the band on tour in Europe. She was the banjoist with the New York Philharmonic performances of "Rhapsody In Blue." Cynthia performed for two USA Presidents, once at the White House, plus has performed in top venues including New York City's Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and several at Lincoln Center. She is the subject of a Trivial Pursuit game question (90's Edition), plus was the official banjoist for The New York Yankees. Cynthia co-starred in "The New Spike Jones Show," as featured in People Magazine and The Wall Street Journal’s front page. Her banjo, vocal, multi-instrumental and acting talents received rave reviews. Sayer composed and produced a series of radio and TV jingles for Laser Medical Associates. She has also been a musical consultant for several feature films plus played on soundtracks including “Sophie’s Choice,” Woody Allen films "Purple Rose Of Cairo" "Bullets Over Broadway,” "Anything Else," TV's "The Cosby Mysteries" and others. Her television and radio credits are extensive, both in the USA and abroad.
Some sample engagements: In 2001 Cynthia was featured on Marian McPartland’s NPR show, "Piano Jazz.” 2002 saw her in concert with some of the top classic and progressive bluegrass players, including Bela Fleck, Bill Keith, Tony Trischka, Eric Weissberg & Mike Marshall, plus was filmed for PBS TV. In 2006 Cynthia was filmed for the Traditional Jazz Curriculum, an ambitious national educational project co-sponsored by The Smithsonian Institution. She also began repeated appearances at The Dorchester Hotel in London. Her many festival appearances include the JVC Jazz Festival (NYC and Boston), Sweet & Hot Music Festival (Los Angeles), Molde Jazz Festival (Norway), Marciac Jazz Festival (France), Ascona Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Jazz Yatra (India), Kobe Jazz Street (Japan), and numerous others.
Ms. Sayer has accumulated numerous awards and honors over the course of her career. Readers Polls from both trade and commercial publications named her “Favorite Living Banjo Player”, “First-Choice Headliner”, “Best Banjo Player” and “4-String Banjo All Styles.” Her first three feature recordings were each recognized as a “Top Ten Classic Jazz Release” for their release year. The Dresden International Jazz Festival 2000 awarded Cynthia their trophy for Festival Favorite, describing her as "a pioneer of a new banjo style... an exceptional artist who, without showy gimmicks, captivates and excites her audiences." In 2006 she was inducted into the National Four-String Banjo Museum Hall Of Fame in Guthrie, OK, in the category of “Performance.” The New York Times points out that "within the small society of contemporary jazz banjoists, women are even rarer. One of that very rare breed, Cynthia Sayer, plays with a plunging drive ... and her jazz-inflected singing [has] a deep sense of involvement."
Ms. Sayer has eight feature recording releases so far. Her most recent, in 2007, is "ATTRACTIONS with Bucky PIzzarelli" and includes an all-star ensemble of top NYC jazz artists. Please visit her website's Recordings page for complete information on all of her recordings: www.cynthiasayer.com plus much more!
Cynthia Sayer graduated from Ithaca College, Magna Cum Laude. She endorses OME Banjos and GHS Strings.
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