Cynthia Sayer playing Ocean County College

From Woody Allen’s Jazz band to the White House, and now New Jersey, jazz banjoist and vocalist Cynthia Sayer will return to her home state for a performance at 8 p.m. Aug. 13 at Ocean County College in Toms River.

Sayer will lead her group, Cynthia Sayer & Her Sparks Fly Quartet, in a family-friendly show at the college theater.

Sayer, a founding member of Woody Allen’s jazz band, plays “an eclectic sample of everything from hot jazz, tango, classical music, vaudeville, blues and Great American Songbook,’’ she said in an interview prior to her appearance last May at the Bickford Theatre in Morristown.

A resident of New York City, Sayer grew up in Scoth Plains. “So I am very excited to be performing in New Jersey. I rarely get to play in this area.’’

Sayer said she started playing banjo when she was 13, “and I never imagined I would one day make a career of it.’’

The banjo wasn’t her first choice of instrument, she recalled.

“I wanted to play the drums, and asked my parents for a drum set, and we had a big fight about it,’’ Sayer said. “Then a couple weeks later there was this banjo on the bed, and I knew it was a bribe, but I started playing it, and it was fun. I took lessons and learned about jazz and really began to enjoy it.’’

Though she loved music in general and also played the piano, Sayer thought she would one day be a lawyer. But after graduating from college, she decided to take a few years off and pursue being an artist and musician and then go to law school.

“I never went back, never went to law school,’’ she said with a a laugh. “I had played gigs while in college for fun and extra spending money, but then when I pursued it after college I really fell in love with the art, and I realized how much I cared about it and became very serious.’’

Today, her goal is to popularize the four-string banjo.

“When most people think of the banjo, they think of the five-string bluegrass banjo,’’ she said. “You could say I am on a mission to re-popularize it, as it’s a very accessible exciting instrument. Most people don’t realize the span and versatility of the instrument. It has a surprising and eclectic range of styles and sound.’’

Sayer has performed in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, played for President Ronald Reagan during his second term in the White House, and for President George W. Bush at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C.

She has also appeared with the New York Philharmonic and appears regularly in concerts and at festivals internationally. She has worked with a number of jazz, popular and roots artists, including Wynton Marsalis, Bucky Pizzarelli, Charlie Giordano and many more. Sayer is also the subject of a Trivial Pursuit question.

She has played on feature film and TV soundtracks, including “Sophie’s Choice’’ and “The Cosby Mysteries,’’ to name two. Sayer has earned a number of awards and accolades over the years, including being inducted into the National Banjo Hall of Fame. Her new CD, “Joyride,’’ received excellent reviews.

“The music on ‘Joyride’ is very uplifting, swingy, happy and fun,’’ she said.

Likewise, she indicated her upcoming concert in Toms River will be uplifting.

“I think I have a great, fun job,’’ she said.

CYNTHIA SAYER & HER SPARKS FLY QUARTER

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13

WHERE: Mid-Week Jazz series at

Ocean County College, main campus,

College Drive, Toms River

TICKETS:, INFO : $12-$22; 732-255-0500; ocean.edu or cynthiasayer.com