Jane Ira Bloom
Jane Ira Bloom (born 1955) is an American jazz soprano saxophonist and composer.
Biography
Bloom was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 12th to Joel & Evelyn Bloom. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the alto saxophone, and eventually settling on the soprano saxophone as her primary instrument. She first began playing the saxophone seriously while at Yale University, from which she received a liberal arts degree and a master's degree in music.
Following Yale, Bloom relocated to New York City. She has worked with Mark Dresser, Bobby Previte, Kenny Wheeler, Charlie Haden, Bob Brookmeyer, Julian Priester, Jay Clayton, Fred Hersch, Jin Hi Kim, and Min Xiao-Fen.
She is noted for her use of live electronics, using a foot pedal to trigger various electronic effects that alter the sound of her saxophone, at times creating the illusion of an orchestra of soprano saxophones.
She was the first musician to be commissioned by the NASA 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.[1][2][3]
The asteroid 6083 Janeirabloom was named after her.[1]
In 2007, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in music composition.
Recent collaborations include live performances and recordings with the underground New York orchestra M'Lumbo.
Bloom is presently a core faculty member at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City's Greenwich Village.
She is married to actor/director, Joe Grifasi.
Her newest release, Sixteen Sunsets received a Grammy nomination for the 56th Grammy Awards in the Best Surround Sound category. Sound engineer: Jim Anderson.
Selected discography
- Mighty Lights (with Fred Hersch, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell), 1982
- As One (with Fred Hersch), 1984
- Art & Aviation (on electronic saxophone, with Kenny Wheeler, Ron Horton, Rufus Reid), 1992
- The Red Quartets (with Fred Hersch), 1999
- Chasing Paint (with Fred Hersch, Mark Dresser, Bobby Previte), 2003
- Like Silver, Like Song, 2004
- Mental Weather (with Dawn Clement, Matt Wilson, and Mark Helias), 2008
- Popular Science (with M'Lumbo), 2013
References
External links
- Jane Ira Bloom official site
- Jane Ira Bloom interview
- The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music
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