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Fay Victor

In command, infectious, energetic and strong: Fay Victor hypnotizes audiences, whether she sings a blues, sculpts a free improvisation piece, reinvents a Herbie Nichols tune through her own lyrics, or effortlessly scats over the harmonies of a jazz standard. Her musicality is deft and the words (usually hers) speak of universal themes with the focus of a story-teller, running the full gamut of human emotion in an original mix of traditional song forms and free improvisation.

At the beginning of the nineties, Ms. Victor began building a name as a jazz vocalist around NY performing primarily jazz standards and blues. After navigating the city clubs for a few years and having formed her first working trio, Victor needed a fresh start and more work and followed the call the Europe. Victor made Amsterdam, the Netherlands her home, living in that city for nearly 8 years. The experience was a fruitful one. Victor used this time to study and hone her distinctive sound, her ear and widen her musical horizons that made the transition from a singer of standards to the unique vocal artist she has become today, a vocalist coming from the jazz tradition as a basis for improvising in the sense of Ornette Coleman/late Coltrane and beyond contrasted by an earthy soulfulness expressed through originals that offer taut construction and witty lyrics. Ms Victor voice and approach is about embracing the gamut of musical expression in an effortless way and talking about the small details that mean so much to so many.

Victor returned home to New York City in 2003 and since then has been one of the most active vocalist on the scene, stretching her voice around the city, touting her groups into clubs, constantly developing new material and forging new collaborations that are taking her as far away as Moscow, Russia.

Victor has appeared at venues/festivals including BAMCafe Live, Het Bimhuis (Amsterdam), The Stone, Roulette/Location One, Zebulon, Poklad (Gdynia), Galapagos Art Space, Barbes, CBGB’s, The Vision Festival Series, Cornelia Street Café, Tonic, the 55 Bar, The HOWL Festival, River to River Festival and GRIM Winter Nights Festival (Marseille, FR). Victor has performed with such notables as Odetta, Gloria Lynne, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Lawrence “Butch” Morris, Misha Mengelberg, Roswell Rudd, Gary Lucas, Tyshawn Sorey, Connie Crothers, Matana Roberts, Vijay Iyer, Michael Attias, Michael Moore, Duck Baker and Steve Coleman.

Awards

Praise for The FreeSong Suite *The Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll 2009**4th in the Best Jazz Vocals Category** *AllAboutJazz-NewYork’s Best of 2009**Best Vocal Releases** *The Jazz Session's Jason Crane’s Top 10 of 2009 �" The FreeSong Suite was Jason’s TOP Pick for the Year *NPR Jazz: Ten Great Moments from Jazz Recordings in 2009 *PopMatters.com: The Best Jazz of 2009 *Laurence Donohue-Greene’s Top 10+ of 2009 *Elzy Kolb: A Few Of My Favorite Things in 2009 *CKUT Jazz Director’s Top 20 list *Délire Actuel 2009 Demanding Music Top 30


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10
Album Review

The Choir Invisible with Charlotte Greve, Vinnie Sperrazza and Chris Tordini: Town of Two Faces

Read "Town of Two Faces" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Infused with an inventive and organic zest, Town of Two Faces swings into the spotlight under the deft ensemble of Charlotte Greve on alto saxophone or voice, Vinnie Sperrazza on drums, Chris Tordini on acoustic bass. It is graced by a cameo from Fay Victor, a voice which paints jazz in bold uncharted colors, with her knack for reimagining the vocal weave in the jazz tapestry with her deep dive into a memorably melodic blues-and gospel-shaded piece, entitled “In Heaven." ...

3
Radio & Podcasts

Fay Victor, Tyshawn Sorey, Matthew Shipp & Jaimie Branch

Read "Fay Victor, Tyshawn Sorey, Matthew Shipp & Jaimie Branch" reviewed by Maurice Hogue


Vocalist Fay Victor's new solo album, Blackity Black Black Is Beautiful, is one of the featured new recordings in this episode of One Man's Jazz. She plays everything on the album. The much-respected drummer Tyshawn Sorey continues to explore the traditional piano trio with the release of Continuing, while Matthew Shipp takes the solo route for his latest, something the master pianist is very familiar with. The late and treasured trumpeter Jaimie Branch died last year before the completion of ...

1
Radio & Podcasts

Singers: Fay Victor, Anita O'Day, Kurt Elling and More

Read "Singers:  Fay Victor, Anita O'Day, Kurt Elling and More" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This show features vocalists as both band leaders and featured performers with other musicians. In the first category, there are Fay Victor and Anita O'Day among others. In the second, we have Kurt Elling with the Charlie Hunter Quartet and Becca Stevens with Ambrose Akinmusire plus several more. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Tina May “It Ain't Necessarily ...

27
Album Review

William Parker: Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World

Read "Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


If multi-instrumentalist/composer William Parker's ten-CD Migration Of Silence Into And Out Of The Tone World suggests a cohesive, high concept plan, it is something more. The beautifully packaged clamshell box set is comprised of mutually exclusive projects—one dating back ten years—with some common themes. There is an overall dedication of the music to “all people of the world who are searching for freedom...." Pandemic downtime resulted in Parker's accumulating enough material for many of these albums. Viewed as a whole, ...

5
Album Review

William Parker: Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World

Read "Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World" reviewed by Giuseppe Segala


L'attività musicale di William Parker è stata copiosamente documentata da circa centocinquanta dischi, che spaziano in un caleidocopio di gruppi fondati dallo stesso contrabbassista, formazioni cooperative, omaggi, collaborazioni. Ma nessun singolo lavoro, fino a questo momento, aveva focalizzato l'attenzione su un ventaglio di ispirazioni così ampio e completo come si fa ora nei dieci CD del cofanetto The Music of William Parker—Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World. In questo lavoro monumentale, che viene ...

1
Album Review

Fay Victor Ensemble: Absinthe & Vermouth

Read "Absinthe & Vermouth" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro


Fay Victor, il cui vocalizzare riecheggia certa drammaturgia nera come di una Betty Carter traslata nel contemporaneo (peraltro con una sua precisa ancestralità), sembra vivere la pratica musicale sostanzialmente nella sua essenza teatrale e oratoria. Ogni brano di questo suo nuovo album, dove il contorno tutto corde finisce per enfatizzare tale connotato, appare così una specie di atto unico in cui l'oralità (più che il canto in senso stretto) conduce la parola verso territori netti, corporali, come scolpiti.

351
Live Review

Fay Victor At The Local 269 in New York

Read "Fay Victor At The Local 269 in New York" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Fay VictorThe Local 269New York, NYSeptember 6, 2010 New York jazz and avant-garde/free vocalist Fay Victor performed two sets with a new jazz ensemble at The Local 269 on September 6, 2010. The Local 269 is a jazz and rock club/bar on East Houston Street, on New York's Lower East Side. It has been open for a year or so and has hosted a stream of progressive music. The Local 269 ...

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2

Performance / Tour

New England Conservatory’s Pioneering Jazz Studies And Contemporary Musical Arts Programs Announce Winter-Spring Season

New England Conservatory’s Pioneering Jazz Studies And Contemporary Musical Arts Programs Announce Winter-Spring Season

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

New England Conservatory (NEC) announces a wide-ranging spring season of jazz and contemporary musical arts events featuring a diverse roster of ensembles and programming. Concerts are free and open to the public. For more information on all concerts, and a complete event calendar, visit necmusic.edu/concerts. Jazz Studies welcomes Jason Moran, Dave Holland and Michael Formanek for residencies. NEC alum Omar Thomas joins the NEC Jazz Orchestra for Jazz and the Struggle for Freedom and Equality. The orchestra also features special ...

96

Festival

Vision Festival 16 Monday Night Vocals and Much More

Vision Festival 16 Monday Night Vocals and Much More

Source: Chris Rich

Monday night at this years Vision Festival is like a miniature of the festival overall. We have a panel event, a special vocal project, and participation from gifted people of many cultures. And there will be a panel to lead off. Most Vision Festivals include an ad hoc vocal ensemble and this year is no exception. Ms Kitamura, Ms Rodea and Ms Victor weave voice sounds with their lore to evoke the original muses who gave this human activity its ...

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Radio

The Jazz Session #256: Fay Victor

The Jazz Session #256: Fay Victor

Source: AAJ Staff


291

Recording

The Exposed Blues Duo Will Celebrate Bare (Greene Avenue Music) at Barbes September 15th

The Exposed Blues Duo Will Celebrate Bare (Greene Avenue Music) at Barbes September 15th

Source: Improvised Communications

On Wednesday, September 15th, The ExPosed Blues Duo, featuring vocalist Fay Victor and guitarist Anders Nilsson, will celebrate their August 31st debut, BARE (Greene Avenue Music), with a special hometown performance at Barbès in Brooklyn. Best known for their work together in Ms. Victor's acclaimed quartet, the Fay Victor Ensemble, these frequent collaborators have used this increasingly vital side project to showcase their distinctive, stripped-down approach to spirituals, jazz standards and early 20th century blues music. “It's a nice cross-section ...

99

Radio

The Jazz Session #95: Fay Victor

The Jazz Session #95: Fay Victor

Source: Michael Ricci

The Fay Victor Ensemble's The FreeSong Suite (Greene Avenue, 2009) is a tour de force of writing, improvisation and performance. Victor and her band paint one fluid word picture after another, linking these composed sections with free playing that is smart, muscular and emotional. In this interview, Victor talks about why she needed a steady band to realize her musical vision; how she arrived at the mix of freedom and pre-determination that characterizes the album; and what the breakdown of ...

94

Event

Fay Victor Performs @ Sweet Rhythm - May 22, 2007

Fay Victor Performs @ Sweet Rhythm - May 22, 2007

Source: All About Jazz

The Fay Victor Ensemble performs at Sweet Rhythm on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007 as part of Tessa Souter's Vocal Series at this fantastic West-Village venue. THE FAY VICTOR ENSEMBLE Fay Victor/voice Anders Nilsson/guitar Ken Filiano/bass Michael TA Thompson/drums TUESDAY, MAY 22. 2007 2 sets, 8:00PM & 9:30PM 88 Seventh Avenue South (at Bleecker Street) 212 255 3626 Full bar and menu available ...

243

Performance / Tour

Fay Victor Performs at Avant Jazz: Still Moving Festival April 28

Fay Victor Performs at Avant Jazz: Still Moving Festival April 28

Source: All About Jazz

The Fay Victor Ensemble will appear at Location/One Roulette as part of the Avant Jazz: Still Moving Festival on Saturday, April 28, 2007.

Fay Victor - voice Anders Nilsson - electric guitar Ken Filiano - acoustic bass, effects Michael 'TA' Thompson - drums, percussion

The Fay Victor Ensemble is a voice-guitar-bass-drum unit performing original material that mostly provides structure for free improvisational flight; each member contributing equally to proceedings. The band's first recording, Cartwheels ...

121

Recording

New Fay Victor CD Coming on ArtistShare in January

New Fay Victor CD Coming on ArtistShare in January

Source: Improvised Communications

On January 2nd, 2007, New York-based vocalist/composer Fay Victor will release her fifth recording as a leader, Cartwheels Through The Cosmos (ArtistShare AS 0061). Recorded without overdubs, the all-original program documents the vibrant and inclusive sound of her working quartet, the Fay Victor Ensemble, featuring guitarist Anders Nilsson, bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Michael “TA" Thompson.

“As boldly inventive as she is bewitching, vocalist Fay Victor is a compelling presence on any bandstand," writes jazz critic and author Bill Milkowski ...

86

Performance / Tour

Fay Victor at Freddy's Backroom - Monday, October 10th

Fay Victor at Freddy's Backroom - Monday, October 10th

Source: All About Jazz

October 10, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] Just a reminder... The moodswing series @ Freddy's Backroom 485 Dean Street Brooklyn, NY (cor of Dean Street and 6th Avenue) Monday, October 10, 2005 9:00-11:00 PM The Fay Victor Ensemble Anders Nilsson-guitar Ken Filiano-bass Fay Victor-voice Special guest: Wolter Wierbos-trombone (his only appearance in NYC) $10 suggested donation The moodswing series is a monthly jazz-experimental concert featuring vocalist Fay Victor and her ensemble. Come down ...

89

Performance / Tour

Fay Victor performance at Kavehaz & Freddy's Backroom Tuesday, October 4th one set only – 7:00PM

Fay Victor performance at Kavehaz & Freddy's Backroom Tuesday, October 4th one set only – 7:00PM

Source: All About Jazz

September 29, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] The Fay Victor Trio Anders Nilsson-guitar Hilliard “Hill” Greene – bass Fay Victor-voice Appearing at Kavehaz Tuesday, October 4th, 2005 For one set only – 7:00PM No cover 37 W. 26th Street New York, NY 10010 212 343-0612 The Fay Victor trio is a new vehicle that features Anders Nilsson, guitar and Hilliard “Hill" Greene, double bass. The group will perform a mixture of standards, originals ...

“A jazz singer who makes her notes slow, wide and meaningful�"she often sounds like an evening-out of Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln�"Fay Victor uses a great and simple concept on The FreeSong Suite (Greene Avenue Music)…a studio recording organized like a live set. This means the band flows from one song into another, without knowing where it’s going next…these songs have distinct melodic character: fascinating ballads with Anders Nilsson’s country-bluesy guitar soloing, drum chants, some careful free improvising.” -Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

“Victor’s soulful, emotive delivery combines with avant-tinged invention, placing her alongside great vocal innovators like Betty Carter, Jeanne Lee, Sheila Jordan…a truly creative singer with the chops to accomplish whatever she wants, but the good taste to ensure that substance always trumps style…The Freesong Suite is a vocal album that stands well above the pack; a welcome respite from the unwieldy preponderance of unimaginative vocal jazz albums hitting the market.” -John Kelman, allaboutjazz.com

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Primary Instrument

Vocals

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Town of Two Faces

Intakt Records
2024

buy

Migration of Silence...

Centering Records / AUM Fidelity
2021

buy

Absinthe & Vermouth

Greene Avenue Music
2014

buy

Kaiso Stories

Silkheart Records
2011

buy

The Freesong Suite

Greene Avenue Music
2009

buy

People Are Strange

From: Lazy Old Sun
By Fay Victor

Videos

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