Fay Victor

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Fay Victor
Fay Victor 2016 (Annamarie Ursula) P1210950.jpg
Victor performing in 2016 in Cologne, Germany
Background information
Born (1965-07-26) July 26, 1965 (age 60) [1] [2]
Manhattan, New York City, United States
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, lyricist
LabelsTao Forms, Northern Spy, ESP Disk, Greene Ave Music, Timeless Records, Freeze records, ArtistShare
Website fayvictor.com

Fay Victor (born July 26, 1965) [1] [2] is an American musician, composer, lyricist and educator. Originally a singer in the traditional jazz field, she has been working in jazz, blues, opera, free improvising, avant-garde, modern classical music, and occasional acting since re-settling in New York in 2003.

Contents

Early life and career

Victor was born in Manhattan, New York City. [3] After spending her early childhood years in New York, Zambia, and Trinidad & Tobago, Victor spent her teenage years in Long Island, NY. [4] After her mother's sudden death, [1] Victor re-discovered music and singing, which led to the minor Billboard charted club hit "You Make Me Happy" [5] released in 1992 and remixed by Todd Terry in 1993. After a 3-month stint at a club in Fukui City, Japan with pianist Bertha Hope, she decided to start a career as a jazz singer. [6] In 1996, Victor settled in Amsterdam, the Netherlands [7] and performed and toured through the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Russia, and India. [8] While living in the Netherlands, Victor branched out into blues, songwriting, and forms of improvising outside the standard jazz canon. Victor moved back to New York City in 2003, and in 2023 settled in the Western Catskills region of New York State. She has worked with the likes of Randy Weston, Roswell Rudd, Anthony Braxton, Misha Mengelberg, Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey, Wadada Leo Smith, Nicole Mitchell, Marc Ribot, Martine Syms, Daniel Carter, William Parker, Darius Jones, Wolter Wierbos, Ab Baars, Joe Morris, Sam Newsome, Reggie Nicholson.

Victor's work has been reviewed in The New York Times, [9] [10] Jazz Times, [11] [12] and Down Beat. [13] [14] [15] [16]

Music

Victor has coined the term "freesong" to describe her vocal approach. [1] [4] In her jazz repertoire, Victor has specialized in the work of Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and Herbie Nichols. [4] [17] She has been a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble since 2021. [18]

Leadership and Activism

Victor has since its inception chaired the Advisory Board for the Jazz Leaders Fellowship via the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, an initiative to fund and support black female and non-binary jazz artists. [18] Victor was co-director of the TalkRace forum [19] and is a member of the "We Have Voice" collective. [20] [21] [22]

Awards and recognition

As a composer, Victor has been awarded the 2017 Herb Albert/Yaddo Fellow in Music Composition, and a 2018 AIR in Composition for the Headlands Center for the Arts in the Marine Headlands in Northern California. [18] In 2025, she received a George Wein TJG Fellowship. [23]

Publications

In 2021, Victor published a chapter in John Zorn's series of new music theory Arcana X: Musicians on Music. [24]

Educator

Victor has been Adjunct Music Faculty at The New School School of Jazz and Contemporary Music since 2019. [25] In the Spring of 2025, she was a Visiting Professor at the Harvard University Music Department. [26] She has given masterclasses at institutions such as the Guildhall School of Music, Lawrence University and University of California, San Diego.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

TitleArtistYearLabel
Life Is Funny That WayFay Victor's Herbie Nichols SUNG2024TAO Forms [27]
Blackity Black Black is BeautifulFay Victor2023Northern Spy Records [28]
We've Had Enough!Fay Victor's SoundNoiseFUNK2020ESP Disk [29]
Barn SongsFay Victor2019Northern Spy [30]
In My Own RoomFay Victor1998Timeless Records [31]
Darker Than BlueFay Victor2001Timeless Records [32]
Should We Do This Again?Fay Victor1995Groovie Sound
Lazy Old SunFay Victor2004Greene Ave Music [33]
Wet RobotsFay Victor's SoundNoiseFUNK2018ESP Disk [29]
Kaiso Stories Other Dimensions In Music with Fay Victor2010Silkheart [34]
Absinthe & VermouthFay Victor Ensemble2013Greene Ave Music
The FreeSong SuiteFay Victor Ensemble2009Greene Ave Music
Cartwheels Through The CosmosFay Victor Ensemble2007ArtistShare [35]
BareThe Exposed Blues Duo (with Anders Nilsson)2010Greene Ave Music [36]
New York/Sankt JohannReDDeer (with Elisabeth Harnik & Dominic Lash)2017Evil Rabbit [37]
TitleArtistYearLabel
West Coast BluesGregor Hilden1998Acoustic Music Records [38]
Aces of Swing: A Tribute to the Music of John Kirby & Charlie ShaversRobert Veen Sextet1996Basta Basta [39]
Trombone for Lovers Roswell Rudd 2013Sunnyside [40]
Embrace Roswell Rudd 2017Rare Noise Records [41]
The Invisible Blow Ab Baars Trio + NY guests2014Stichting Wig [42]
Trillium E Anthony Braxton 2011New Braxton House [43]
Glorious RavageLiza Mezzacappa2017New World Records [44]
The Jazz Lounge Trio Meets...Jazz Lounge Trio2000Laika Records [45]
Songs of Resistance - 1942-2018 Marc Ribot 2018Anti records [46]
Overcome Dave Douglas 2022Greenleaf Music [47]
maroon cloud Nicole Mitchell's Maroon Cloud2018Nicole Mitchell Bandcamp [48]
Purposing The Air Ingrid Laubrock 2025Pyroclastic Records [49]
Miniature America Miles Okazaki 2024Cygnus Recordings [50]
Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World - Volumes 1–10 William Parker 2021AUM Fidelity [51]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Giving Birth To Sound. Koln, Germany: Buddy's Knife. 2015. pp. 248–253. ISBN   978-3-00-049279-2.
  2. 1 2 Jazz, All About. "Fay Victor @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz Musicians. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  3. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (June 10, 2010). "CareFusion, Vision, Undead and Other Jazz Fests". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Fay Victor gives free rein to jazz vocals". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  5. ↑ "The Darryl James/David Anthony Project Featuring Fay Victor". Discogs. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Fay Victor | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Fay Victor Opening New Doors" . Retrieved March 25, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Biography – Fay Victor". fayvictor.com. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  9. ↑ Chinen, Nate (August 27, 2010). "Abbey Lincoln's Style Influences New Set of Recordings". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  10. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (October 7, 2009). "New Works by Shrinebuilder, Fay Victor, Coati Mundi, Francesco Cafiso and Junk Culture". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Fay Victor Ensemble: Absinthe & Vermouth". JazzTimes. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Other Dimensions in Music featuring Fay Victor: Kaiso Stories". JazzTimes. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Winter Jazzfest Gilded with Guitarists and Vocalists". Down Beat. January 17, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Roswell Rudd Feted at 82nd Birthday Bash". Down Beat. November 28, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Downbeat 1403 Digital Edition" (PDF). Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  16. ↑ "DownBeat Reviews". Down Beat. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Sound It Out: "20 Questions" #2 — Fay Victor". Sound It Out!. September 15, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  18. 1 2 3 "Fay Victor". International Contemporary Ensemble. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  19. ↑ "FAY VICTOR / TYSHAWN SOREY". CACOPHONY. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  20. ↑ "we have voice". wehavevoice.org. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Women Fighting Sexism in Jazz Have a Voice. And Now, a Code of Conduct". The New York Times. April 30, 2018. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  22. ↑ "A Map to the Line, And How Not To Cross It: A Code Of Conduct For The Performing Arts". NPR. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Fay Victor". Instagram. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Arcana X: Musicians on Music". Amazon. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Fay Victor". newschool.edu. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Fay Victor". coursicle.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Life Is Funny That Way - TAO Forms". taoforms.bandcamp.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Blackity Black Black Is Beautiful - Northern Spy Records". northernspyrecs.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  29. 1 2 "ESP-Disk'". espdisk.com. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Barn Songs - Northern Spy Records". northernspyrecs.com. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Jazz is Timeless Records – Fay Victor – In My Own Room". timelessjazz.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Jazz is Timeless Records – Fay Victor – Darker Than Blue". timelessjazz.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Lazy Old Sun, by Fay Victor". Fay Victor. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Silkheart Records presents the New American Jazz". silkheart.se. Archived from the original on January 26, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Cartwheels Through The Cosmos, by The Fay Victor Ensemble". The Fay Victor Ensemble. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Bare, by Exposed Blues Duo". Exposed Blues Duo. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  37. ↑ "err26: new york – st. johann – reddeer | Evil Rabbit Records". evilrabbitrecords.eu. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Gregor Hilden Feat. Fay Victor – Westcoast Blues". discogs. November 9, 1998. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  39. ↑ Aces of swing – Robert Veen – Muziekweb (in Dutch), retrieved March 25, 2018
  40. ↑ "Trombone For Lovers, by Roswell Rudd". Sunnyside Records. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  41. ↑ "RareNoiseRecords – rudd-victor-harris-filiano". RareNoiseRecords. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  42. ↑ Kappers, Arjan. "Ab Baars – discography". stichtingwig.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  43. ↑ "Trillium E, by Anthony Braxton". New Braxton House. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  44. ↑ "New World Records: Album Details". newworldrecords.org. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  45. ↑ "cdpressemeets". muenster.org. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Songs Of Resistance 1942 - 2018". anti.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  47. ↑ "DAVE DOUGLAS - OVERCOME". greenleafmusic.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  48. ↑ "maroon cloud". nicolemitchell.bandcamp.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  49. ↑ "Purposing The Air". Pyroclastic Records. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  50. ↑ "Miniature America". miniatureamerica.bandcamp.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  51. ↑ "William Parker – Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World". aumfidelity.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
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