Jane Ira Bloom
Encyclopedia
Jane Ira Bloom is an American
jazz
soprano saxophonist
and composer.
, 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.
The asteroid
6083 Janeirabloom
was named after her.
In 2007, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
in music composition.
Bloom is presently a core faculty member at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music
in New York City's Greenwich Village
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
soprano saxophonist
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
and composer.
Biography
Bloom was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the alto saxophoneAlto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, and eventually settling on the soprano saxophone as her primary instrument. She first began playing the saxophone seriously while at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, from which she received a liberal arts degree and a master's degree in music.
Following Yale, Bloom relocated to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She has worked with Mark Dresser
Mark Dresser
Mark Dresser is an American double bass player and composer.-Biography:He has performed and recorded with many of the luminaries of "new" jazz composition and improvisation. For ten years he performed with the Anthony Braxton Quartet, as well as diverse groups led by Ray Anderson, Tim Berne,...
, Bobby Previte
Bobby Previte
Robert "Bobby" Previte is a drummer, composer and bandleader. Previte earned a B.A. in Economics at the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979, and became active in the city's thriving jazz and experimental music scenes...
, Kenny Wheeler
Kenny Wheeler
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC is a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s....
, Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
, Bob Brookmeyer
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
, Julian Priester
Julian Priester
Julian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and composer.He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.-Biography:...
, Jay Clayton
Jay Clayton
Jay Clayton is an internationally acclaimed avant-garde vocalist and jazz educator.- Early years :...
, Fred Hersch
Fred Hersch
Fred Hersch is a contemporary American jazz pianist who has become a consistent and highly demanded performer on the international jazz scene....
, Jin Hi Kim
Jin Hi Kim
Kim Jin-Hi is a geomungo player and composer.She is known for introducing the geomungo to the wider world through her contemporary chamber and orchestral compositions and large-scale multimedia pieces, as well as her extensive work in avant-garde and cross-cultural free...
, and Min Xiao-Fen
Min Xiao-Fen
Min Xiaofen is a Chinese pipa player and vocalist, known for her work in traditional Chinese music, contemporary classical music, and jazz.She studied with her father, Min Ji-Qian, a professor and pipa instructor at Nanjing University, and performed as pipa soloist for the Nanjing National Music...
.
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
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
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.
The asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
6083 Janeirabloom
6083 Janeirabloom
6083 Janeirabloom is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 25, 1984 by B. A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of Lowell Observatory.- External links :*...
was named after her.
In 2007, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in music composition.
Bloom is presently a core faculty member at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music
The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music
The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music is the second conservatory of The New School university. It is located on 13th Street in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood.-History:...
in New York City's Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
.
Selected discography
- Art & Aviation (on electronic saxophone, with Kenny Wheeler, Ron Horton, Rufus ReidRufus ReidRufus Reid is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.-Personal history:...
), 1992 - The Red Quartets (with Fred Hersch), 1999
- Chasing Paint (with Fred Hersh, Mark Dresser, Bobby Previte), 2003
- Like Silver, Like Song, 2004
- Mental Weather (with Dawn Clement, Matt Wilson, and Mark Helias), 2008