From 1949 until his death in 1976 he and his musical associate and life partner Gordon Heath ran a cafe and nightclub named L'Abbaye on the Rive Gauche in Paris. Here they both regularly played American and French folk, gospel and blues songs - being the only performers at the Abbaye. L'Abbaye was the namesake of their duet albums titled Songs Of The Abbaye (1954), Encores From The Abbaye (1955), and An Evening at L'Abbaye (1957) on the Elektra label. Payant died of cancer in Paris in 1976.