Clif Payne

Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times: "Clif is a lush tenor with soaring melismas in his individual passages."
Grammy recipient violinist Carlos Reyes calls him "the voice of silk and soul."

Clif Payne was born in Harlem and grew up in Evansville, Indiana. While in Harlem, Payne lived in the same apartment complex the was also home to Duke Ellington. Clif Payne is an enterprising "late bloomer" boomer--not recording his first solo album until past the age of 60. Discovered by Bobby McFerrin and with a voice that merges the genres of jazz, R&B, folk & gospel, Payne is one of the finest and most creative singers to emerge in the new millennium. He's opened in concert for Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis and Dionne Warwick. His 2 albums--Welcome To My World and TOO with the legendary Freda Payne--produced the chart-topping U.K. duet "No Pain, No Gain. The song became the U.K.'s Soul Song of the Year in 2018. Since then, he's performed with Freda Payne, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Norman Connors, Sheena Easton, Fourplay drummer Harvey Mason, Hiroshima, LA's acapella ensemble Inner Voices. Payne says that Donny Hathaway is his greatest vocal influence.

A gifted songwriter, interpreter of standards and contemporary songs, Payne performs with his electric band, his acoustic ensembles or solo with his voice and guitar. Now that the COVID pandemic is subsiding, Payne returns to the concert stage in late 2021 thru 2022 with newly-written songs and familiar classics.