Fay Victor

• Name — Fay Victor • Landscape — yes • Born — 26 July 1965 • Birthplace — Manhattan, New York City, United States • Occupation — Musician, composer, lyricist • Label — Tao Forms, Northern Spy, ESP Disk, Greene Ave Music, Timeless Records, Freeze records, ArtistShare • Website — fayvictor.com

Victor was born in Manhattan, New York City. After spending her early childhood years in New York, Zambia, and Trinidad & Tobago, Victor spent her teenage years in Long Island, NY. After her mother's sudden death, Victor re-discovered music and singing, which led to the minor Billboard charted club hit "You Make Me Happy" 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. In 1996, Victor settled in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and performed and toured through the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Russia, and India. 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, Jazz Times, and Down Beat.

Victor has coined the term "freesong" to describe her vocal approach. In her jazz repertoire, Victor has specialized in the work of Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and Herbie Nichols. She has been a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble since 2021.

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. Victor was co-director of the TalkRace forum and is a member of the "We Have Voice" collective.

Victor has been Adjunct Music Faculty at The New School School of Jazz and Contemporary Music since 2019. In the Spring of 2025, she was a Visiting Professor at the Harvard University Music Department. She has given masterclasses at institutions such as the Guildhall School of Music, Lawrence University and University of California, San Diego.

• Title — Artist — Year — Label • Life Is Funny That Way — Fay Victor's Herbie Nichols SUNG — 2024 — TAO Forms • Blackity Black Black is Beautiful — Fay Victor — 2023 — Northern Spy Records • We've Had Enough! — Fay Victor's SoundNoiseFUNK — 2020 — ESP Disk • Barn Songs — Fay Victor — 2019 — Northern Spy • In My Own Room — Fay Victor — 1998 — Timeless Records • Darker Than Blue — Fay Victor — 2001 — Timeless Records • Should We Do This Again? — Fay Victor — 1995 — Groovie Sound • Lazy Old Sun — Fay Victor — 2004 — Greene Ave Music • Wet Robots — Fay Victor's SoundNoiseFUNK — 2018 — ESP Disk • Kaiso Stories — Other Dimensions In Music with Fay Victor — 2010 — Silkheart • 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 • Bare — The Exposed Blues Duo (with Anders Nilsson) — 2010 — Greene Ave Music • New York/Sankt Johann — ReDDeer (with Elisabeth Harnik & Dominic Lash) — 2017 — Evil Rabbit

• Title — Artist — Year — Label • West Coast Blues — Gregor Hilden — 1998 — Acoustic Music Records • Aces of Swing: A Tribute to the Music of John Kirby & Charlie Shavers — Robert Veen Sextet — 1996 — Basta Basta • Trombone for Lovers — Roswell Rudd — 2013 — Sunnyside • Embrace — Roswell Rudd — 2017 — Rare Noise Records • The Invisible Blow — Ab Baars Trio + NY guests — 2014 — Stichting Wig • Trillium E — Anthony Braxton — 2011 — New Braxton House • Glorious Ravage — Liza Mezzacappa — 2017 — New World Records • The Jazz Lounge Trio Meets... — Jazz Lounge Trio — 2000 — Laika Records • Songs of Resistance - 1942-2018 — Marc Ribot — 2018 — Anti records • Overcome — Dave Douglas — 2022 — Greenleaf Music • maroon cloud — Nicole Mitchell's Maroon Cloud — 2018 — Nicole Mitchell Bandcamp • Purposing The Air — Ingrid Laubrock — 2025 — Pyroclastic Records • Miniature America — Miles Okazaki — 2024 — Cygnus Recordings • Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World - Volumes 1–10 — William Parker — 2021 — AUM Fidelity