Cynthia Sayer

Cynthia Nan Sayer is a jazz banjoist and vocalist.

Sayer was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, but grew up in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. She took up the banjo when she was thirteen years old. She attended Ithaca College in New York and was graduated magna cum laude with a bachelors degree in English.

In 1982, she recorded with Marvin Hamlisch for the soundtrack for Sophie's Choice. In 1985 she worked as a musical consultant on Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo and later on his films "Bullets Over Broadway" and "Anything Else." She has also played on a number of other feature film & TV show soundtracks, as well as TV commercials.

Cynthia Sayer is a regular member of Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band which plays every Monday evening at Manhattan's Carlyle Hotel. She appears in documentary film Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) and documents a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band. Sayer appears on two released recordings of the group, CDs: The Bunk Project (1993) and the soundtrack of Wild Man Blues (1997).

Cynthia Sayer also has an extensive career as a bandleader and featured guest artist. She tours internationally on a regular basis, performing concerts and festivals. She has released eight feature CDs so far on various labels. Her most recent is "Attractions" with Bucky Pizzarelli (2007). www.cynthiasayer.com