Cecil Payne is a true pioneer who. Helped establish the baritone saxophone in postwar jazz, expanding it's role. To a full-fledged participant in the bristling free-for-all of bebop - Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader. Cecil made his recording debut in 1946 on a J. J. Johnson album also featuring Bud Powell & Max Roach. In 1947 he joined the Dizzy Gillespie big band which cemented Payne's place in jazz history. Chick Boom, his 4th Delmark album, was recorded live in Chicago last August with Eric Alexander, Jim Rotondi, Harold Mabern, John Webber, Joe Farnsworth, drums.