Fay Victor (born July 26, 1965) 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.

Early life and career

Victor was born in Brooklyn, New York City. After spending her early childhood years in New York, Zambia, and Trinidad & Tobago, her mother settled in Long island, NY, where Victor spent her teenage years. After her mother's sudden death, Victor re-discovered music and singing, and 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. In 1996, Victor settled in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and performed and toured through the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Russia, and India. While living in the Netherlands, Victor branched out into blues, songwriting, and forms of improvising outside the standard jazz canon. Victor has lived in NYC since 2003. She has worked with the likes of

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chica ...

Misha Mengelberg Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...

Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (born October 26, 1971) is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, histori ...

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Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Free ...

, Nicole Mitchell,

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wait ...

Martine Syms Martine Syms (born 1988) is an American artist based in Los Angeles who works in publishing, video, installation, and performance. Her work focuses on identity and the portrayal of the self in relation to themes such as feminism and Black cu ...

, Daniel Carter, William Parker, Darius Jones,

Wolter Wierbos Wolter Wierbos (born 1 September 1957, in Holten, Overijssel) is a Dutch trombonist. Wierbos has played throughout Europe, Canada, USA and Asia. Wierbos has many awards to his name, including the Podiumprijs for Jazz and Improvised music and the ...

Ab Baars Ab Baars (born November 21, 1955 in Axel, Netherlands) is a Dutch saxophonist and clarinetist who has had an active performance career since the 1970s. He has recorded several albums for the Geestgronden Records, Atavistic Records, and WIG record ...

, Joe Morris,

Sam Newsome Sam Newsome (born April 28, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator. His music combines straight-ahead jazz, world music (drawing influences from North Africa and East Asia) and experimental jazz, which uses extended techni ...

Reggie Nicholson Reginald "Reggie" Nicholson (born July 17, 1957) is an American jazz drummer. Nicholson took a bachelor's degree in percussion performance at Chicago State University and became a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ...

. Victor's work has been reviewed in ''The New York Times'', ''Jazz Times'', and ''Down Beat''.

Music

Victor has coined the term "freesong" to describe her vocal approach. In her jazz repertoire, Victor has specialized in the work of

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

and

Herbie Nichols Herbert Horatio Nichols (January 3, 1919 – April 12, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote the jazz standard " Lady Sings the Blues". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics. Lif ...

Activism

Victor is co-director of the TalkRace forum and is a member of the "We Have Voice" collective.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As featured artist/sideperson

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Victor, Fay 21st-century American composers American women composers American women songwriters Living people 1965 births 21st-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century American women musicians Musicians from Brooklyn 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers RareNoiseRecords artists