NJ's International Banjo Star Brings Her Swingin' Sound To Wayne

“Cynthia Sayer is a rarity; a woman who plays the banjo with drive and virtuosity”

– The New York Times

Video: Cynthia Sayer Performance Reel

CYNTHIA SAYER, the internationally celebrated banjoist and vocalist who grew up in Scotch Plains, NJ, will lead her Joyride Quartet in "The Hot Banjo Show" at the Shea Center for Performing Arts in Wayne, NJ on Sunday, December 2, 2018. Meet the Artist at 3:00 PM, Concert at 4:00 PM. Shea Center is located on the campus of William Paterson University at 300 Pompton Road, Wayne, NJ. Advance Tickets: $15; William Paterson Community and Seniors $12; Students $8. WP Students get 1 free ticket on show day with valid ID card. All tickets are an additional $3 each on show day. For more information: T: (973) 720-2371 or Shea Center for Performing Arts or Cynthia Sayer.

The founding member of Woody Allen’s jazz band, who honed her virtuoso chops playing with many renowned artists, is known and beloved for her electrifying, swing-based performances featuring her distinctive style of jazz banjo, the guitar's predecessor in jazz. Sayer's vocals are divine and her banjo a driving force of nature – think Bela Fleck meets Django Reinhardt – as she delights audiences with an unexpected mix of hot jazz, Great American Songbook, vaudeville, tango, classical, and more.

Accompanying Sayer for “The Hot Banjo Show” will be her Joyride Band: Dennis Lichtman on clarinet & violin, Mike Weatherly on string bass and vocals, and Larry Eagle on drums.

7 THINGS YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BANJO:

• The banjo evolved from gourd instruments brought over by Africans who were captured for slavery.
• There are huge bass banjos, standing as tall as a string bass, overgrown-looking cello banjos, and even tiny piccolo banjos.
• The banjo was wildly popular in jazz until about 1934, when the guitar came into fashion.
• It was once commonplace for women to play banjo as parlor entertainment for their guests.
• In the late 1800s, there was an effort to “elevate” the lowly image of the banjo by playing classical music on it.
• Early banjo strings were often made from catgut – i.e. sheep or goat intestines, not kitties.
• If you played in a banjo orchestra or banjo club in 1890, then you were extremely cool.

ABOUT CYNTHIA SAYER

Multi award-winning instrumentalist/vocalist/bandleader Cynthia Sayer is acclaimed by musicians, critics, and fans alike as one of the top 4-string jazz banjoists in the world today. Praised for her “drive and virtuosity” by the New York Times, Cynthia enchants audiences with her electrifying, swing-based performances and captivating stage presence wherever she appears.

In 2018, Cynthia garnered cheering crowds and her usual standing ovation at the Newport Jazz Festival. Other recent USA festival appearances include headlining at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival the 2017 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, and numerous others. Multiple international jazz festivals have honored Cynthia as "Festival Favorite" and readers polls have named her “Favorite Living Banjo Player,” “First-Choice Headliner,” and “Best Banjo Player” and she is an inductee into The American Banjo Hall of Fame. Cynthia has appeared as a guest and performer on CBS, FOX & ABC network television shows, including Good Morning America and The Morning Show, as well as on NPR's Piano Jazz, BBC Radio, and elsewhere. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, DownBeat, Fretboard Journal, International Musician, People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and countless other local, trade, and foreign media outlets.

Sayer first rose to international prominence as a founding member of Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band, all the while exploring her wider musical interests and playing with such legendary jazz, popular, and roots music artists as Bucky Pizzarelli, Dick Hyman, Les Paul, Marvin Hamlisch, Wynton Marsalis, Andy Statman, John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) ), Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, Charlie Giordano (with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band), as well as leading jazz contemporaries such as Wycliffe Gordon, Anat Cohen, Vince Giordano, Scott Robinson, Randy Sandke, and many others.

A multi-instrumentalist heard on distinguished feature film and TV soundtracks and comfortable in many genres, Cynthia identifies first and foremost as a jazz banjoist, touring extensively with her bands and as a guest artist across four continents. At home, she performs at prestigious venues like New York City's Lincoln Center, Winter Jazzfest, and Joe's Pub at The Public and is producer of the annual "Hot Strings Festival" at City Winery NY.

Her feature CD's, nine in all, have received rave reviews and multiple "Best of" nominations and awards in various categories, including two Jazz Journalists Association best pick lists. Sayer has played for two U.S. Presidents (once at The White House), performed with several symphony orchestras including The New York Philharmonic, was the official banjoist for The New York Yankees, and is proud to be the subject of a Trivial Pursuit game question.

Sayer is an avid educator, presenting clinics, programs, and lecture/demonstrations at schools, colleges, and cultural organizations. She was filmed for a national educational project co-sponsored by The Smithsonian Institution and has contributed articles to several American and British trade publications. Her play-along program, You're IN The Band, is popular with players of all instruments learning and practicing traditional/hot jazz and swing.

Cynthia lives in New York City and endorses Ome Banjos, GHS Strings, Blue Chip Picks, and The Realist Banjo Pickups by David Gage.