{{short description|American songwriter}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Fay Victor | image = Fay Victor 2016 (Annamarie Ursula) P1210950.jpg | image_upright = | image_size = | landscape = yes | alt = | caption = Victor performing in 2016 in Cologne, Germany | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|07|26}}<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Jazz">{{Cite web|url=https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/fayvictor|title=Fay Victor @ All About Jazz|last=Jazz|first=All About|website=All About Jazz Musicians|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref> | birth_place = Manhattan, New York City, United States | origin = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date first) --> | death_place = | genre = | occupation = Musician, composer, lyricist | instrument = | years_active = <!-- YYYY–YYYY (or –present) --> | label = Tao Forms, Northern Spy, ESP Disk, Greene Ave Music, Timeless Records, Freeze records, ArtistShare | website = {{URL|fayvictor.com}} }} '''Fay Victor''' (born July 26, 1965)<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Jazz">{{Cite web|url=https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/fayvictor|title=Fay Victor @ All About Jazz|last=Jazz|first=All About|website=All About Jazz Musicians|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref> 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 Manhattan, New York City.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/arts/music/11jazzfests.html|title=CareFusion, Vision, Undead and Other Jazz Fests|last=Ratliff|first=Ben|date=June 10, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 March 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After spending her early childhood years in New York, Zambia, and Trinidad & Tobago, Victor spent her teenage years in Long Island, NY.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Fay-Victor-gives-free-rein-to-jazz-vocals-2311305.php|title=Fay Victor gives free rein to jazz vocals|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> After her mother's sudden death,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Giving Birth To Sound|publisher=Buddy's Knife|year=2015|isbn=978-3-00-049279-2|location=Koln, Germany|pages=248–253}}</ref> Victor re-discovered music and singing, which led to the minor Billboard charted club hit "You Make Me Happy"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/433547-The-Darryl-JamesDavid-Anthony-Project-Featuring-Fay-Victor-You-Make-Me-Happy-Special-DJ-Only-Remixes?srsltid=AfmBOop3geXqVMkgvdnzPT2PBIafbBAMtxfSN4HEsTxd9NDD-Z027XC- |title=The Darryl James/David Anthony Project Featuring Fay Victor |publisher=Discogs |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/fay-victor-mn0000162651|title=Fay Victor {{!}} Biography & History {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> In 1996, Victor settled in Amsterdam, the Netherlands<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/fay-victor-opening-new-doors|title=Fay Victor Opening New Doors|access-date=March 25, 2018}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and performed and toured through the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Russia, and India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fayvictor.com/biography/|title=Biography – Fay Victor|website=fayvictor.com|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> 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, and Reggie Nicholson.
Victor's work has been reviewed in ''The New York Times'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/arts/music/28abbey.html|title=Abbey Lincoln's Style Influences New Set of Recordings|last=Chinen|first=Nate|date=August 27, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 March 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/arts/music/11play.html|title=New Works by Shrinebuilder, Fay Victor, Coati Mundi, Francesco Cafiso and Junk Culture|last=Ratliff|first=Ben|date=October 7, 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 March 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''Jazz Times'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/fay-victor-ensemble-absinthe-vermouth/|title=Fay Victor Ensemble: Absinthe & Vermouth |work=JazzTimes|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/other-dimensions-in-music-featuring-fay-victor-kaiso-stories/|title=Other Dimensions in Music featuring Fay Victor: Kaiso Stories |work=JazzTimes|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> and ''Down Beat''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://downbeat.com/news/detail/winterfest2|title=Winter Jazzfest Gilded with Guitarists and Vocalists|date=January 17, 2018|work=Down Beat|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://downbeat.com/news/detail/roswell-rudd-feted-at-82nd-birthday-bash|title=Roswell Rudd Feted at 82nd Birthday Bash|date=November 28, 2017|work=Down Beat|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2014/DB1403/_art/DB1403.pdf|title=Downbeat 1403 Digital Edition|access-date=March 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/embrace|title=DownBeat Reviews|website=Down Beat|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref>
== Music == Victor has coined the term "freesong" to describe her vocal approach.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> In her jazz repertoire, Victor has specialized in the work of Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and Herbie Nichols.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sounditoutnyc.com/2017/09/14/sound-it-out-20-questions-2-fay-victor/|title=Sound It Out: "20 Questions" #2 — Fay Victor|date=September 15, 2017|work=Sound It Out!|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> She has been a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble since 2021.<ref name="iceorg_fay-victor">{{Cite web|url=https://iceorg.org/fay-victor |title=Fay Victor |publisher=International Contemporary Ensemble |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref>
=== 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.<ref name="iceorg_fay-victor"/> Victor was co-director of the TalkRace forum<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cacophonymag.com/fayvictoryandtyshawnsoreyduo|title=FAY VICTOR / TYSHAWN SOREY|website=CACOPHONY|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> and is a member of the "We Have Voice" collective.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wehavevoice.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220182131/http://www.wehavevoice.org/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 20, 2017|title=we have voice|website=wehavevoice.org|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/arts/music/we-have-voice-jazz-women-metoo.html|title=Women Fighting Sexism in Jazz Have a Voice. And Now, a Code of Conduct.|date=April 30, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=7 May 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/04/30/607142770/a-map-to-the-line-and-how-not-to-cross-it-a-code-of-conduct-for-the-performing-a|title=A Map to the Line, And How Not To Cross It: A Code Of Conduct For The Performing Arts|publisher=NPR|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref>
===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.<ref name="iceorg_fay-victor"/> In 2025, she received a George Wein TJG Fellowship.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DPQCL8fAJ2t/ |title=Fay Victor |website=Instagram |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref>
=== Publications === In 2021, Victor published a chapter in John Zorn's series of new music theory Arcana X: Musicians on Music.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.amazon.com/Arcana-X-John-Zorn/dp/0978833716 |title=Arcana X: Musicians on Music |website=Amazon |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref>
=== Educator === Victor has been Adjunct Music Faculty at The New School School of Jazz and Contemporary Music since 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newschool.edu/performing-arts/faculty/fay-victor/ |title=Fay Victor |website=newschool.edu |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> In the Spring of 2025, she was a Visiting Professor at the Harvard University Music Department.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.coursicle.com/harvard/professors/Fay+Victor/ |title=Fay Victor |website=coursicle.com |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> 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 === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Title !Artist !Year !Label |- |Life Is Funny That Way |Fay Victor's Herbie Nichols SUNG |2024 |TAO Forms<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fayvictor.bandcamp.com/album/life-is-funny-that-way|title=Life Is Funny That Way - TAO Forms|website=taoforms.bandcamp.com |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> |- |Blackity Black Black is Beautiful |Fay Victor |2023 |Northern Spy Records<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://northernspyrecs.com/product/blackity-black-black-is-beautiful/|title=Blackity Black Black Is Beautiful - Northern Spy Records|website=northernspyrecs.com |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> |- |We've Had Enough! |Fay Victor's SoundNoiseFUNK |2020 |ESP Disk<ref name="ESP-Disk'">{{Cite web|url=http://www.espdisk.com/|title=ESP-Disk'|website=espdisk.com|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |Barn Songs |Fay Victor |2019 |Northern Spy<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://northernspyrecs.com/product/barn-songs|title=Barn Songs - Northern Spy Records|website=northernspyrecs.com |access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref> |- |In My Own Room |Fay Victor |1998 |Timeless Records<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timelessjazz.com/album/1301996852|title=Jazz is Timeless Records – Fay Victor – In My Own Room|website=timelessjazz.com|access-date=25 March 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721191919/http://www.timelessjazz.com/album/1301996852|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- |Darker Than Blue |Fay Victor |2001 |Timeless Records<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timelessjazz.com/album/1301996859|title=Jazz is Timeless Records – Fay Victor – Darker Than Blue|website=timelessjazz.com|access-date=25 March 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721191941/http://www.timelessjazz.com/album/1301996859|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- |Should We Do This Again? |Fay Victor |1995 |Groovie Sound |- |Lazy Old Sun |Fay Victor |2004 |Greene Ave Music<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fayvictor.bandcamp.com/album/lazy-old-sun|title=Lazy Old Sun, by Fay Victor|website=Fay Victor|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |Wet Robots |Fay Victor's SoundNoiseFUNK |2018 |ESP Disk<ref name="ESP-Disk'"/> |- |Kaiso Stories |Other Dimensions In Music with Fay Victor |2010 |Silkheart<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.silkheart.se/release.php?catno=158|title=Silkheart Records presents the New American Jazz.|website=silkheart.se|access-date=25 March 2018|archive-date=January 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126161008/http://www.silkheart.se/release.php?catno=158|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- |Absinthe & Vermouth |Fay Victor Ensemble |2013 |Greene Ave Music |- |The FreeSong Suite |Fay Victor Ensemble |2009 |Greene Ave Music |- |Cartwheels Through The Cosmos |Fay Victor Ensemble |2007 |ArtistShare<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thefayvictorensemble.bandcamp.com/album/cartwheels-through-the-cosmos|title=Cartwheels Through The Cosmos, by The Fay Victor Ensemble|website=The Fay Victor Ensemble|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |Bare |The Exposed Blues Duo (with Anders Nilsson) |2010 |Greene Ave Music<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://exposedbluesduo.bandcamp.com/album/bare|title=Bare, by Exposed Blues Duo|website=Exposed Blues Duo|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |New York/Sankt Johann |ReDDeer (with Elisabeth Harnik & Dominic Lash) |2017 |Evil Rabbit<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://evilrabbitrecords.eu/catalogue/new-york-st-johann/|title=err26: new york – st. johann – reddeer {{!}} Evil Rabbit Records|website=evilrabbitrecords.eu|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |}
=== As featured artist/collaborator === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Title !Artist !Year !Label |- |West Coast Blues |Gregor Hilden |1998 |Acoustic Music Records<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Gregor-Hilden-Feat-Fay-Victor-Westcoast-Blues/release/10305684|title=Gregor Hilden Feat. Fay Victor – Westcoast Blues|date=November 9, 1998 |publisher=discogs|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |Aces of Swing: A Tribute to the Music of John Kirby & Charlie Shavers |Robert Veen Sextet |1996 |Basta Basta<ref>{{Citation|title=Aces of swing – Robert Veen – Muziekweb|url=https://www.muziekweb.nl/Link/JDX1983/Aces-of-swing|language=nl-NL|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |Trombone for Lovers |Roswell Rudd |2013 |Sunnyside<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sunnysidezone.com/album/trombone-for-lovers|title=Trombone For Lovers, by Roswell Rudd|website=Sunnyside Records|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |Embrace |Roswell Rudd |2017 |Rare Noise Records<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rarenoiserecords.com/rudd-victor-harris-filiano|title=RareNoiseRecords – rudd-victor-harris-filiano|website=RareNoiseRecords|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |The Invisible Blow |Ab Baars Trio + NY guests |2014 |Stichting Wig<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://stichtingwig.com/abBaars/discographyAbBaars/discographyAbBaars.html|title=Ab Baars – discography|last=Kappers|first=Arjan|website=stichtingwig.com|access-date=25 March 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721162314/http://stichtingwig.com/abBaars/discographyAbBaars/discographyAbBaars.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- |Trillium E |Anthony Braxton |2011 |New Braxton House<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newbraxtonhouse.bandcamp.com/album/trillium-e-2|title=Trillium E, by Anthony Braxton|website=New Braxton House|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |Glorious Ravage |Liza Mezzacappa |2017 |New World Records<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newworldrecords.org/album.cgi?rm=view&album_id=94782|title=New World Records: Album Details|website=newworldrecords.org|access-date=25 March 2018|archive-date=December 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229040430/http://www.newworldrecords.org/album.cgi?rm=view&album_id=94782|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- |The Jazz Lounge Trio Meets... |Jazz Lounge Trio |2000 |Laika Records<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.muenster.org/jazzloungetrio/MUSIK/cdpressemeets.html|title=cdpressemeets|website=muenster.org|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> |- |Songs of Resistance - 1942-2018 |Marc Ribot |2018 |Anti records <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anti.com/releases/songs-resistance/ |title=Songs Of Resistance 1942 - 2018 |website=anti.com |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> |- |Overcome |Dave Douglas |2022 |Greenleaf Music<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://greenleafmusic.com/artists/davedouglas/overcome/ |title=DAVE DOUGLAS - OVERCOME |website=greenleafmusic.com |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> |- |maroon cloud |Nicole Mitchell's Maroon Cloud |2018 |Nicole Mitchell Bandcamp <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nicolemitchell.bandcamp.com/album/maroon-cloud |title=maroon cloud |website=nicolemitchell.bandcamp.com |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> |- |Purposing The Air |Ingrid Laubrock |2025 |Pyroclastic Records <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pyroclasticrecords.com/release/purposing-the-air/ |title=Purposing The Air |publisher=Pyroclastic Records |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> |- |Miniature America |Miles Okazaki |2024 |Cygnus Recordings<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://miniatureamerica.bandcamp.com/album/miniature-america |title=Miniature America |website=miniatureamerica.bandcamp.com |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> |- |Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World - Volumes 1–10 |William Parker |2021 |AUM Fidelity<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aumfidelity.com/products/william-parker-migration-of-silence-into-and-out-of-the-tone-world-volumes-1-10/ |title=William Parker – Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World |website=aumfidelity.com |access-date=2025-11-01}}</ref> |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|https://www.fayvictor.com}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victor, Fay}} Category:21st-century American composers Category:American women songwriters Category:Living people Category:1965 births Category:20th-century American composers Category:Musicians from Brooklyn Category:20th-century American women composers Category:21st-century American women composers Category:RareNoiseRecords artists