Jazz Articles about Fay Victor

Fay Victor: The Freesong Suite

by Wilbur MacKenzie
October 13, 2009

Vocalist Fay Victor first appeared in the New York scene in the early '90s but soon moved to the Netherlands, returning in 2003. Victor's years abroad proved to be quite influential on her work, with a slightly Dutch aesthetic informing a quirky blend of absurdism, poetic lyricism and blues-influenced jazz styling. On The Freesong Suite, rather than presenting each tune on its own, the works are collaged together amidst an ongoing collective improvisation. Room 1407 starts things ...

Fay Victor: The Freesong Suite

by AAJ Italy Staff
September 23, 2009

La cantante americana Fay Victor si conferma con questo eccellente The Freesong Suite, come una delle voci più interessanti emerse negli ultimi anni nel panorama internazionale della vocalità jazz. Il suo approccio è multiforme, tiene conto del blues e del free-jazz, non disdegna riferimenti che occhieggiano al rock e alla tradizione del canto jazz. Ma riesce sempre magicamente ad essere se stessa e a proporre una musica che guarda in avanti mischiando sapientemente elementi tratti dal passato e dal presente. ...

Fay Victor Ensemble: Cartwheels Through the Cosmos

by John Kelman
March 26, 2007

Sometimes first impressions can be deceiving. “Leap of Faith," the opening track on Fay Victor's Cartwheels Through the Cosmos, bursts out of the speakers, suggestion a hard-edged album filled with relentless energy when that's only part of the equation. The beauty of Victor, who's the absolute antithesis of polite vocal jazz, is her blending of soulful delivery with avant-garde tactics. Cartwheels Through the Cosmos is that rarity amongst contemporary vocal jazz releases: an album that doesn't rely on a tired ...

Fay Victor Ensemble: Cartwheels Through the Cosmos

by Jerry D'Souza
January 9, 2007

Fay Victor marks an impressive presence on Cartwheels Through the Cosmos as she comes up with an arresting amalgam of songs. Victor neither caters to the norm nor does she slot herself. Instead, she soars free and often beautifully as her phrasing finds a comfort zone in jazz harmony. Her sense of improvisation is another asset; she can take a song and turn it around on different rhythmic landscapes.

Victor is now a presence in New York, but she had ...

Fay Victor: Lazy Old Sun

by William Grim
April 12, 2005

This is a very interesting CD from the American (former ex-pat) singer Fay Victor--her last recording made in Europe before returning to the United States last year. Her repertoire is very eclectic, ranging from standards to original tunes to covers of less-than-satisfactory 1960s-era rock tunes and one offering from the songbook of the highly overrated Randy Newman.

Indeed, it is a testament to Victor's musicianship that she is able to transform such egregiously bad material like the title ...

Fay Victor: Darker Than Blue

by C. Michael Bailey
March 1, 2002

If American expatriate Fay Victor assimilates the grace of Nancy Wilson, the delivery of Betty Carter, and the courage of Cassandra Wilson, her guitarist, Anton Goudsmit channels the tone of Kenny Burrell, the image of Charlie Christian and the attitude of James Blood Ulmer. This is fairly well illustrated on “Tonight," Ms. Victor's take on Herbie Nichols' “House Party Starting." This song is populated with Victor's elastic vocals and Goudsmit's elastic plectra. Goudsmit's extended solo is full of crags and ...

Fay Victor: In My Own Room

by Glenn Astarita
January 1, 1999

Fay Victor’s name is new to this reviewer. On this new CD from Timeless records we get a glimpse of Victor’s ability to perform some pretty crafty vocalese on such standards as Miles Davis’ “All Blues”, Monk’s “Ask Me Now”, Jobim’s “Wave” and others. 11 tracks in total, all of which are uniquely personal renditions of tried and true classics. At times Ms. Victor rekindles thoughts of the late Betty Carter. Fay Victor possesses a wide vocal range and often ...