Photo: Jochem van Dijk

On Wednesday, March 7th at 8:30 p.m., Brooklyn-based vocalist Fay Victor will perform a special set of duets with the legendary Dutch pianist and bandleader Misha Mengelberg at The Bimhuis in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This will be their first-ever concert as a duo after working together in various group settings over the past seven years, including Ms. Victor’s special guest performances with the iconic ICP Orchestra. The repertoire will be chosen spontaneously, but is expected to draw from their shared love for the music of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols.

“It will be a joy to meet Misha face-to-face this way,” Ms. Victor explains. “He has been a mentor of sorts to me since I first approached him about recording together back in 2001. We’ve played here and there ever since, including the last set of his two-week run at The Stone in New York in 2005, previous shows at the Bimhuis and tour dates with ICP in 2010 and 2011. I knew I’d already be in Europe in March to perform at the ArtActs Festival with the ReDDeeR Trio, so I suggested the idea for this show to Misha last November and I’m very fortunate he and the Bimhuis wanted to make it happen. I look forward to seeing where the moment and magic take us!”

“Awesome, incredible, unique, overwhelming—the adjectives to describe the sheer magnificence of vocalist/poet/improviser Fay Victor could go on for days,” writes the New Haven Advocate‘s Bill Carbone. Critics have called her “restlessly creative” (Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader), “artistically complete” (Ben Ratliff, New York Times), “breathtakingly original” (Jerome Wilson, Cadence), “refreshingly outside-the-box” (Time Out New York) and “a vocal artist with a real vision” (Lloyd Sachs, JazzTimes). When not leading and composing for her own groups, including the ExPosed Blues Duo and The Fay Victor Ensemble, she is collaborating with such notable artists as Ab Baars, Anthony Braxton and Other Dimensions in Music.

Learn more about Fay Victor at http://www.fayvictor.com

Photo: Gulnara Khamatova

Vocalist/composer Fay Victor will perform with two groups, Patricia Nicholson’s Last Call and Other Dimensions in Music, at tonight’s edition of the weekly Evolving Music series at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Education Center in New York.

This will be Ms. Victor’s first performance with Ms. Nicholson’s ensemble, while her ongoing Calypso-themed collaboration with the eminent free jazz collective Other Dimensions in Music continues to earn international attention.

Their 2011 recording, Kaiso Stories (Silkheart Records), was included on best-of-the-year lists published by Dusted, Free Jazz, The Jazz Journalists Association, The New York City Jazz Record and the Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll, and inspired reviewers to call it “a wonderful combination” (Lawrence Joseph, Montreal Mirror), “gloriously potent” (Jerome Wilson, Cadence) and ”a roaring success” (Ed Hazell, Point of Departure).

“Roots tributes seldom get as fascinating or as cultishly seductive as Kaiso Stories,” adds JazzTimes contributor Lloyd Sachs. “Having emerged as a vocal artist with a real vision, Victor rises to a higher level of inspiration here.”

Learn more about Fay Victor at http://www.fayvictor.com

After a quick detour to New York for APAP|NYC and Winter Jazzfest last week, we’re now officially up and running with our newly expanded client roster for 2012. It is our great pleasure to be serving as the exclusive media contact for these nine musicians and two labels throughout our 10th anniversary year.

Please click on the following links to visit each client’s page on our site for additional information.

AUM Fidelity
Darcy James Argue
Eric Hofbauer
Fay Victor
James Falzone
Jason Stein
Jon Irabagon
Josh Sinton
Mary Halvorson
Myra Melford
Playscape Recordings

For those not familiar with our roster system, this is the third consecutive year we’ll be working with a small group of clients to help them promote all of their performing and recording activities on a per-year basis. This is intended to be a more organic alternative to the traditional one-off system in which individual events or recordings are promoted outside the larger context of one’s overall career. In cases where a venue or label already has a publicity infrastructure in place, we will augment that promotion as appropriate by collaborating with those existing contacts. In short, if at any point you have any questions or requests related to the 11 clients listed above, please direct them to us and we’ll be happy to help.

In the meantime, thank you for your continued support of independent creative improvised music and we look forward to being in touch with you about all the exciting projects our clients are a part of in 2012.

Congratulations to our clients on being recognized by the following 2011 polls and year-end lists!

Darcy James Argue

DownBeat Critics’ Poll: Rising Star Composer (#1)

DownBeat Critics’ Poll: Rising Star Big Band (#2)

DownBeat Readers’ Poll: Big Band (#2)

JazzTimes Readers’ Poll: Best Big Band (#3)

100 Composers Under 40
—NPR in conjunction with WQXR 

Top 10 concerts/gigs in Ottawa
—Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen 

Top 10 Concerts Of The Year (Brooklyn Babylon)
—David R. Adler, New York City Jazz Record

Noteworthy Live Shows This Year (Brooklyn Babylon)
—Ralph A. Miriello, Jazz Journalists Association

AUM Fidelity

Darius Jones

Musicians Of The Year
—The New York City Jazz Record

Darius Jones & Matthew Shipp, Cosmic Lieder (AUM066)

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Francis Davis, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Steve Dollar, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Ed Hazell, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Tim Niland, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Albums For 2011
—S. Victor Aaron, Something Else!

Top 10 New Releases For 2011
—Tim Niland, Music and More 

Top 10 of 2011
—Stanley Zappa, Free Jazz 

Top 30 of 2011
—Andrew Forbes, THIS IS OUR MUSIC.

2011’s Ten Best New Releases
—Alain Drouot, Jazz Journalists Association

Albums of the Year: Honorable Mentions
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Top 10 Concerts of the Year
—Andrey Henkin, The New York City Jazz Record

Farmers By Nature, Out Of This World’s Distortions (AUM067)

Top 5 Albums of 2011
—Kevin Le Gendre, BBC 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—David Fricke, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—John Sharpe, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Ten New Releases of 2011
—Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise 

Top Ten New Releases of 2011
—Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise 

Best New Jazz/Improvised Music Albums of 2011
—Steve Holtje, Culture Catch

Albums of the Year: Honorable Mentions
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Best Releases of 2011
—John Sharpe, AllAboutJazz.com 

David S. Ware/Cooper-Moore/WilliamParker/Muhammad Ali, Planetary Unknown (AUM068)

Jazz & Improv A-Z
—The Wire 

Record Of The Year (#34)
—Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Clifford Allen, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Larry Birnbaum, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Troy Collins, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Steve Dollar, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—David Fricke, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Aiden Levy, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Chris Monsen, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Bret Saunders, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Ten New Releases of 2011
— Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise 

Top 10 Satisfying CDs of 2011
—Bret Saunders, Denver Post

Top 10 Albums of 2011
—Lawrence Joseph, Montreal Mirror

Best New Jazz/Improvised Music Albums of 2011
—Steve Holtje, Culture Catch

Top 10 of 2011
—Stanley Zappa, Free Jazz 

Best New Releases of 2011
—Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com 

Best New Releases of 2011
—Clifford Allen, Ni Kantu 

Top 10 New Releases For 2011
—Tim Niland, Music and More 

Best of 2011
—Antonio Terzo, Jazz Journalists Association 

Favorite 20 + 3 for 2011
—John Braithwaite, CKUT 90.3 FM

Albums of the Year: Honorable Mentions
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Darius Jones Trio, Big Gurl (AUM069)

Albums of the Year
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Record Of The Year (#19)
—Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Larry Birnbaum, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Troy Collins, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Steve Dollar, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Alain Drouot, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Tad Hendrickson, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Lyn Horton, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Chris Monsen, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—John Sharpe, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Jeff Stockton, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Jazz Albums of 2011
—Shaun Brady, Philadelphia City Paper 

Best New Releases of 2011
—Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com 

Best Releases of 2011
—John Sharpe, AllAboutJazz.com 

Top 10 of 2011
—Guy Peters, Free Jazz 

Top 10 of 2011
—Tony Verstraete, Free Jazz 

Top 10 of 2011
—Lyn Horton, The Paradigm For Beauty

Top 10 New Releases
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, Jazz Journalists Association

Top 10 New Releases
—Shaun Brady, Jazz Journalists Association

Top 10 for 2011
—Tad Hendrickson, Jazz Journalists Association

Best of 2011: New Releases
—Luke Stewart, Jazz Journalists Association

Favorite 20 + 3 for 2011
—John Braithwaite, CKUT 90.3 FM

David S. Ware, Organica (AUM070)

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Larry Birnbaum, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Jazz Albums of 2011
—Shaun Brady, Philadelphia City Paper 

Best of 2011: Jazz
—Bill Meyer, Dusted 

Best New Jazz/Improvised Music Albums of 2011
—Steve Holtje, Culture Catch

Top 30 of 2011
—Andrew Forbes, THIS IS OUR MUSIC.

Top 10 New Releases
—Shaun Brady, Jazz Journalists Association

James Falzone

DownBeat Critics’ Poll: Rising Star Clarinet (#4)

Great Arts Events I Was At 2011
—Janis Hashe, Chattanooga Pulse

KLANG, Other Doors (Allos Documents)

The year’s best jazz CDs
—Neil Tesser, Examiner.com 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Lyn Horton, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Derek Taylor, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Favorite 20 + 3 for 2011
—John Braithwaite, CKUT 90.3 FM

Albums of the Year: Honorable Mentions
—The New York City Jazz Record

Best of 2011
—Antonio Terzo, Jazz Journalists Association

Top 13 of 2011
—Neil Tesser, Jazz Journalists Association

Mary Halvorson

DownBeat Critics’ Poll: Rising Star Guitar (#1)

Best Guitarist 2011
—Village Voice, Best of New York

100 Composers Under 40
—NPR in conjunction with WQXR 

Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone, Departure Of Reason (Thirsty Ear)

My favorite albums of 2011
—Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Lyn Horton, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Albums for 2011
—Mark Saleski, Something Else!

Top 10 of 2011
—Lyn Horton, The Paradigm For Beauty

Weasel Walter/Mary Halvorson/Peter Evans, Electric Fruit (Thirsty Ear)

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Alain Drouot, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

2011’s Ten Best New Releases
—Alain Drouot, Jazz Journalists Association

Fay Victor

Other Dimensions In Music featuring Fay Victor, Kaiso Stories (Silkheart)

Vocal Releases of the Year
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Best Vocal Album (#6)
—Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Record Of The Year (#40)
—Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year
—John Szwed, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Ed Hazell, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Robert Iannapollo, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Chris Monsen, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Derek Taylor, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Albums of the Year
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, The New York City Jazz Record

Best of 2011
—Derek Taylor, Dusted

Vocal releases of 2011
—John Szwed, Jazz Journalists Association 

Top 10 New Releases + Vocal releases of 2011
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, Jazz Journalists Association 

Top 10 of 2011
—Guy Peters, Free Jazz

Top 10 of 2011
—Stanley Zappa, Free Jazz

Favourites for 2011
—CKUT 90.3 FM 

Favorite 20 + 3 for 2011
—John Braithwaite, CKUT 90.3 FM 

Another year is almost in the books, which means it’s time for critics and fans alike to start compiling their best-releases-of-the-year lists.

For your reference, here’s a list of our clients’ 2011 recordings.

AUM Fidelity

Darius Jones & Matthew Shipp, Cosmic Lieder
Farmers By Nature, Out Of This World’s Distortions
David S. Ware/Cooper-Moore/William Parker/Muhammad Ali, Planetary Unknown
Darius Jones Trio, Big Gurl (Smell My Dream)
David S. Ware, Organica (solo saxophones, volume 2)

James Falzone

KLANG, Other Doors (Allos Documents)

Mary Halvorson

Weasel Walter/Mary Halvorson/Peter Evans, Electric Fruit (Thirsty Ear)
Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone, Departure of Reason (Thirsty Ear)
Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet, Apparent Distance (Firehouse 12 Records)
The Thirteenth Assembly, Station Direct (Important Records)

Eric Hofbauer

Eric Hofbauer & The Infrared Band, LEVEL (Creative Nation Music)

Playscape Recordings

Ted Rosenthal Trio, Out Of This World

Fay Victor

Other Dimensions In Music Featuring Fay Victor, Kaiso Stories (Silkheart)

More news about 2012 releases coming soon!

Photo: Francesca Patella

Starting tonight, vocalist Fay Victor will join old friend Ab Baars as a special guest on his Invisible Blow tour of Europe for the next two weeks.

These concerts, officially celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Ab Baars Trio, will feature a new book of original music written for the group augmented by Ms. Victor and fellow New Yorker Vincent Chancey on French horn.

Here’s the itinerary:

11/10 :: Hot House (Leiden, The Netherlands)
11/11 :: kerkje van Oostum (Oostum, The Netherlands)
11/12 :: Plus Etage (Baarle Nassau, The Netherlands)
11/13 :: Serah Artisan (Zaandam, The Netherlands)
11/16 :: Alchemia (Krakow, Poland)
11/17 :: Klub Powiekszenie (Warsaw, Poland)
11/18 :: Aufsturz (Berlin, Germany)
11/19 :: Jazzatelier (Ulrichsberg, Austria)
11/20 :: Alte Gerberei (St. Johann, Austria)
11/21 :: Blue Tomato (Vienna, Austria)
11/22 :: Cankarjev Dom (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
11/25 :: De Regentenkamer (The Hague, The Netherlands)
11/26 :: Bimhuis (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Learn more about Fay Victor at http://fayvictor.com

Photo: Gulnara Khamatova

Jerome Wilson reviews Kaiso Stories (Silkheart Records), vocalist Fay Victor‘s Calypso-themed collaboration with the eminent free jazz collective Other Dimensions In Music, in the latest issue of Cadence.

“Victor is proving to be one of the most extraordinary vocalists on the scene today,” Wilson writes, “and here she comes off as actress, sorceress, and temptress, working an area of rough, declamatory improvisations in the tradition of Jeanne Lee and Abbey Lincoln but with her own burning passion and galvanic force.”

He adds, “Other Dimensions is passionate and inspired on this disc and Victor is a wonder to behold. It’s been a while since I heard Free Jazz with this much holy fire in it. One of the best discs of the year without question.”

Learn more about Fay Victor at http://www.fayvictor.com

Photo by Michael Weintrob

Tonight at 7:00 p.m., The ExPosed Blues Duo, featuring vocalist Fay Victor and guitarist Anders Nilsson, will perform at 55 Bar‘s annual Independence Day Blues Festival for the third time in four years.

The group will show off its continually expanding repertoire, which now features distinctive interpretations of music by W.C. Handy, Curtis Mayfield and the 70′s arena rock bands Argent, Free and Grand Funk Railroad in addition to the early 20th Century blues and original tunes heard on its 2010 debut, BARE (Greene Avenue Music).

“It’s not the blues that’s exposed on BARE,” writes The New York City Jazz Record‘s Kurt Gottschalk, “it’s the duo. Nilsson and Victor are heartfelt and volatile…they are always deeply playing the songs. It’s not so much, in other words, that The Exposed Blues Duo is ‘updating’ or ‘modernizing’ the material; in fact it’s the opposite: they’re resonating with its history.”

“Victor and Nilsson really make this music their own,” adds Step Tempest‘s Richard Kamins, “bending pieces such as ‘Mood Indigo’ into new and creative shapes. This music is so personal yet so universal, heartfelt, challenging and alive. Fay Victor and Anders Nilsson take their time, neither rushing the music nor shortchanging the lyrics.”

Learn more about Fay Victor and The ExPosed Blues Duo at http://www.fayvictor.com

DownBeat‘s August issue is reaching subscribers now and with it the results of the 59th Annual Critics Poll.

We’re very pleased to report that our clients are well represented and in more categories than ever before.

AUM Fidelity earned the number nine spot on the Jazz Album of the Year list with William Parker’s I Plan To Stay A Believer: The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield, while its recording artists Darius Jones (Rising Star Alto Saxophone) and David S. Ware (Tenor Saxophone) made strong showings in their respective categories.

The members of Farmers By Nature, who recently released their second AUM Fidelity record, Out Of This World’s Distortions, also made some noise for their recent individual accomplishments. William Parker and Gerald Cleaver were recognized in the Bass and Rising Star Drums categories respectively, and Craig Taborn scored a hat trick with wins for Rising Star Piano, Electronic Keyboard and Rising Star Organ.

Darcy James Argue got the most votes in the Rising Star Composer category and his GRAMMY® nominated big band Secret Society grabbed the second spot for Rising Star Big Band. He and the group were also recognized in the Arranger, Rising Star Arranger, Composer and Big Band categories.

James Falzone, who appeared on three very different recordings in the past year (KLANG’s Other Doors, Allos Musica Trio’s Lamentations and Vox Arcana’s Aerial Age), was fourth in the Rising Star Clarinet category.

Firehouse 12 Records and Mary Halvorson share the credit for Saturn Sings‘ number eight spot on the Jazz Album of the Year list.

Ms. Halvorson also went on to win for Rising Star Guitar while also being recognized in the Rising Star Jazz Artist category. Her longstanding trio, featuring Rising Star Bass winner John Hébert, finished fourth in the Rising Star Jazz Group category.

Last but definitely not least, Fay Victor, who has been impressing critics and fans alike in recent months with her own bands as well as collaborations with Other Dimensions In Music and the ICP Orchestra, was recognized in both the Rising Star Female Vocals and Female Vocals categories.

Congratulations to all the musicians and labels on this recognition of their work and thanks to all the voters for their attention and support of our clients and their music.

“Roots tributes seldom get as fascinating or as cultishly seductive as Kaiso Stories,” writes reviewer Lloyd Sachs in the July/August issue of JazzTimes, ”on which Brooklyn-based singer Fay Victor teams with the free-jazz collective Other Dimensions in Music to revisit, reinvent and audaciously retool songs from her Trinidadian youth.”

“Victor,” he continues, “assures you from the start that neither ‘Maryanne Revisited’ (as in ‘down by the seaside’) nor the rest of these songs will indulge in turntable nostalgia…she reawakens cultural history, addressing political and religious topics as well as boy-girl and life-and-death themes with manic chants, raspy shouts and patois-inflected spoken recitations.

Sachs adds, “Having emerged as a vocal artist with a real vision, Victor rises to a higher level of inspiration here.”

Learn more about Fay Victor and her various musical projects at http://www.fayvictor.com