Fay Victor
A native of Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Wheatley Heights, Long Island, Fay Victor considered the possibility of becoming a jazz singer as a result of a personal tragedy more than anything else. In the 1980's, while studying International Relations at Syracuse University, she lost her mother during her sophomore year and dropped out of school. Because friends had been telling her she had a good voice, she decided to give singing a try. Victor attended the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music studying music theory and piano. She also attended a vocal workshop at the Williamsburg Music Center in Brooklyn and took private voice lessons for 2 years. Victor kicked off her jazz career began doing club gigs and concerts around the NY metropolitan area. This was followed in 1991 by a 3-month stint at a jazz club in Japan. The Japanese experience was the defining moment for Victor and she chose jazz singing as her profession.
Victor performed at such New York jazz venues as Birdland's, The Village Gate, Sign of the Dove and B. Smith's, working with Bernard "Pretty" Purdie , Walter Booker and Don Braden among others. Having already worked in Europe earlier, Victor moved to Europe in 1996 to take advantage of the greater number of performing available for jazz musicians on the Continent. She appeared at festivals and concerts The Netherlands, Russian, Belgium, Austria and Spain and was featured vocalist on Robert Veen's Aces of Swing in Holland.
Victor cites Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae as major influences. Listening to Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane helped her to lay the instrumental foundation for her voice. Her first album for Timeless Records, In My Own Room, released in April of 1999, dedicated to Betty Carter, is a real banquet of song and showcases Victor's considerable vocal talent. She bends the lyrics, swings, sings ballads and the blues. Her delivery can be strong, sassy, smokey or sophisticated, depending on the musical situation and the musical picture she wants to paint. Fay Victor has all the tools to be a major player in the jazz vocal scene.
© Dave Nathan /TiVo
Discography
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Life Is Funny That Way
Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG
Jazz - Released by Tao Forms on 5 apr. 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The World Is Still The Same
Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG
Jazz - Released by Tao Forms on 30 jan. 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Blackity Black Black Is Beautiful
Jazz - Released by Northern Spy on 25 aug. 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Darker Than Blue
Jazz - Released by Timeless Records on 9 okt. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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In My Own Room
Jazz - Released by Timeless Records on 1 jan. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Lazy Old Sun (Live/Life in the Low Lands)
Jazz - Released by Greene Ave Music on 1 okt. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The FreeSong Suite
Elektronische muziek of Musique Concrète - Released by Greene Avenue Music on 22 sep. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Cartwheels Through The Cosmos
Alternative en Indie - Released by ArtistShare on 1 jan. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You Make Me Happy
House - Released by InHouse Records on 10 nov. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo