Jane Ira Bloom (born January 12, 1955) is an American jazz

soprano saxophonist The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo saxop ...

and composer.

Early years

Bloom was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Joel and Evelyn Bloom. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

, and eventually settling on the soprano saxophone as her primary instrument. She first began playing the saxophone at age 9, studying with woodwind virtuoso Joseph Viola from 1968–1979, and studying music at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

from which she received a liberal arts degree and a master's degree in music (1977). Following Yale, Bloom relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She founded Outline Records while in New Haven and released several recordings under that label.

Career

She was the first musician to be commissioned by the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Art Program; in 1989 she created three original musical compositions: ''Most Distant Galaxy'', for soprano saxophone and live electronics, prepared tape, bass, drums, and electroacoustic percussion; ''Fire & Imagination'', for soprano saxophone, improvisors, and chamber orchestra; and ''Beyond the Sky'', for wind ensemble. In 2007, she was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in music composition. Bloom is a tenured professor at

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music School of Jazz and Contemporary Music is the second conservatory of The New School. It is located on West 13th Street in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. It was known as The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music before it wa ...

in New York City's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. Her 2013 release, ''Sixteen Sunsets'', received a Grammy nomination for the 56th Grammy Awards in the Best Surround Sound category, with sound engineer Jim Anderson. Bloom won the Chamber Music America New Jazz Works award in 2015 for a new composition inspired by the 19th-century American poet Emily Dickinson. The resulting work, entitled "Wild Lines" premiered in 2016 to positive reviews. Bloom won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound category at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards for her album “Early Americans.”

Legacy

The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

6083 Janeirabloom was named after her.

Discography

As leader

* ''Second Wind'' (Outline, 1980) * '' Mighty Lights'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Ja ...

, 1982) * '' As One'' ( JMT, 1985) * ''

Modern Drama ''Modern Drama'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing studies of dramatic literature. It is published four times a year by the University of Toronto Press. It was founded in 1958 and largely focuses on literature of the 19th century on ...

'' ( Columbia, 1987) * '' Slalom'' (Columbia, 1988) * '' Art and Aviation'' (

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

, 1992) * '' The Nearness'' (Arabesque, 1996) * '' The Red Quartets'' (Arabesque, 1999) * '' Sometimes the Magic'' (Arabesque, 2001) * '' Chasing Paint'' (Arabesque, 2003) * '' Like Silver, Like Song'' (

ArtistShare ArtistShare is the internet's first commercial crowdfunding website.Crowd-Funding 101: What Every Musician Needs for a Successful Campaign It also operates as a record label and business model for artists which enables them to fund their projec ...

, 2005) * ''

Mental Weather ''Mental Weather'' is a studio album by american jazz saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom. The album was released on January 30, 2008 by Outline Records label. Reception Mike Shanley of ''JazzTimes'' commented, "Mental Weather begins and ends delicately, ...

'' (Outline, 2008) * '' Wingwalker'' (Outline, 2010) * ''

Sixteen Sunsets ''Sixteen Sunsets'' is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom. The album was released on December 15, 2013 by Outline Records label. This is her 15th album as a band leader. ''Sixteen Sunsets'' received a Grammy nomination for ...

'' (Outline, 2013) * ''

Early Americans ''Early Americans'' is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom. The album was released on May 13, 2016, by Outline Records label. This is her 16th album as a band leader. The album received the Grammy Award for Best Immersive A ...

'' (Outline, 2016) * '' Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickenson'' (Outline, 2017) * '' Some Kind of Tomorrow'' (Outline, 2021) * '' Tues Days'' (Outline, 2021)

As guest

Sandra Boynton Sandra Keith Boynton (born April 3, 1953) is an American humorist, songwriter, director, music producer, children's author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated over seventy-five books for children and seven general audience book ...

, ''Philadelphia Chickens'' (Rounder, 2004) * Jay Clayton, ''All-Out'' (Anima, 1981) * Anthony Davis, ''Return from Space'' (Gramavision, 1985) *

Giora Feidman Giora Feidman ( he, גיורא פיידמן; born 25 March 1936) is an Argentine-born Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music. Biography Giora Feidman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his Bessarabian Jewish parents immigra ...

, ''Klezmer Celebration'' (Plane 1997) * David Friedman, ''Of the Wind's Eye'' (Enja, 1981) *

Jerry Granelli Gerald John Granelli (December 30, 1940July 20, 2021) was an American-Canadian jazz drummer. He was best known for playing drums on the soundtrack '' A Charlie Brown Christmas'' with the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Early life Granelli was born to Jack ...

, ''Another Place'' (veraBra, 1993) * Frederic Hand, ''Frederick Hand's Baroque and On the Street'' (CBS, 1981) * Frederic Hand, ''Frederic Hand's Jazzantiqua'' (Musical Heritage Society, 1984) * Frederic Hand, ''Jazzantiqua'' (Musical Heritage Society, 1985) * Ron Horton, ''Genius Envy'' (Omnitone, 1999) * Daniel Humair, ''Surrounded 1964/87'' (Blue Flame, 1987) * Cleo Laine, ''Jazz'' (RCA Victor, 1991) *

Bobby Previte Bobby Previte (born July 16, 1951 in Niagara Falls, New York) is a drummer, composer, and bandleader. He earned a degree in economics from the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979 and began ...

, ''The 23 Constellations of Joan Miro'' (Tzadik, 2001)

References

External links

Jane Ira Bloom official siteThe New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Jane Ira 1955 births 21st-century American women musicians Living people Jazz soprano saxophonists American jazz soprano saxophonists American women jazz musicians Arabesque Records artists Jazz musicians from Massachusetts Yale School of Music alumni 21st-century American saxophonists Women jazz saxophonists JMT Records artists ArtistShare artists Columbia Records artists Enja Records artists