Fay Victor Ensemble at Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares Series at The Arts Block

“Fay Victor is proving to be one of the most extraordinary vocalists on the scene today,” writes Cadence Magazine, “and she comes off as actress, sorceress, and temptress, working an area of rough, declamatory improvisations in the tradition of Jeanne Lee and Abbey Lincoln but with her own burning passion and galvanic force…Victor is a wonder to behold. It’s been a while since I heard Free Jazz with this much holy fire in it.”

Fay Victor has led her Ensemble for over eight years and released three recordings. The New York Times calls her most recent, Absinthe & Vermouth (Greene Ave. Music), “a literate but growlingly original new course for her working band.” ...

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“Fay Victor is proving to be one of the most extraordinary vocalists on the scene today,” writes Cadence Magazine, “and she comes off as actress, sorceress, and temptress, working an area of rough, declamatory improvisations in the tradition of Jeanne Lee and Abbey Lincoln but with her own burning passion and galvanic force…Victor is a wonder to behold. It’s been a while since I heard Free Jazz with this much holy fire in it.”

Fay Victor has led her Ensemble for over eight years and released three recordings. The New York Times calls her most recent, Absinthe & Vermouth (Greene Ave. Music), “a literate but growlingly original new course for her working band.”
Now based in New York, Victor has performed and recorded with the Instant Composer’s Pool Orchestra, Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Orchestra, Dutch reedist Ab Baars, William Parker and many more. Victor also leads Herbie Nichols SUNG, a project dedicated to the great pianist. Victor has written lyrics to a large number of Nichols compositions.

“Like Dali’s melting clock, Victor’s lyrics cascade in a melding of the mundane, the natural and the fantastical,” writes Katie Bull, in The New York Jazz Record. “Words morph into pointillistically expressive wails and punctuating tones. It’s like the Mad Hatter invited Kurt Weill and Arnold Schoenberg to tea and the caterpillar scored it.”

Anders Nilsson, a long-time associate of Fay Victor, is a Swedish New York based guitarist/composer/improviser. “Nilsson has got the chops to pull off jazz, blues, rock and noise and much of what lies in between,” writes Kurt Gottschalk. “What’s more notable, though, is that he’s got enough sense not to overuse his skills.”

Active since the early '80s, bassist Ken Filiano has contributed to dozens of albums featuring Vinny Golia, Steve Adams and John Carter. His debut as a leader was a 2002 solo recording, Subvenire. His 2010 release, Dreams from a Clown Car, can be found on Clean Feed Records.

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