Jane Ira Bloom (born January 12, 1955) is an American jazz soprano saxophonist and composer.

Early years

Bloom was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, to Joel and Evelyn Bloom. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

, and eventually settling on the soprano saxophone as her primary instrument. She first began playing the saxophone at age 9, studying with woodwind virtuoso Joseph Viola, chair of the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Woodwinds Department, from 1968 to 1979, and studying music at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

from which she received a liberal arts degree and a master's degree in music (1977). Following Yale, Bloom relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She founded Outline Records while in New Haven and released several recordings under that label.

Career

She was the first musician to be commissioned by the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

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. In 2007, she was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in music composition. Bloom is a tenured professor at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

. Her 2013 release, ''Sixteen Sunsets'', received a Grammy nomination for the 56th Grammy Awards in the Best Surround Sound category, with sound engineer Jim Anderson. Bloom won the Chamber Music America New Jazz Works award in 2015 for a new composition inspired by the 19th-century American poet Emily Dickinson. The resulting work, entitled "Wild Lines" premiered in 2016 to positive reviews. Bloom won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound category at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards for her album “Early Americans.”

Legacy

The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

6083 Janeirabloom was named after her.

Discography

As leader

* ''Second Wind'' (Outline, 1980) * '' Mighty Lights'' ( Enja, 1982) * '' As One'' ( JMT, 1985) * '' Modern Drama'' ( Columbia, 1987) * '' Slalom'' (Columbia, 1988) * '' Art and Aviation'' ( Arabesque, 1992) * '' The Nearness'' (Arabesque, 1996) * '' The Red Quartets'' (Arabesque, 1999) * '' Sometimes the Magic'' (Arabesque, 2001) * '' Chasing Paint'' (Arabesque, 2003) * '' Like Silver, Like Song'' ( ArtistShare, 2005) * '' Mental Weather'' (Outline, 2008) * '' Wingwalker'' (Outline, 2010) * '' Sixteen Sunsets'' (Outline, 2013) * '' Early Americans'' (Outline, 2016) * '' Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickenson'' (Outline, 2017) * ''Some Kind of Tomorrow'' (Outline, 2021) * ''Tues Days'' (Outline, 2021) * ''Picturing the Invisible: Focus 1'' (Outline, 2022)

As guest

* Sandra Boynton, ''Philadelphia Chickens'' (Rounder, 2004) * Jay Clayton, ''All-Out'' (Anima, 1981) * Anthony Davis, ''Return from Space'' (Gramavision, 1985) * Giora Feidman, ''Klezmer Celebration'' (Plane 1997) * David Friedman, ''Of the Wind's Eye'' (Enja, 1981) * Jerry Granelli, ''Another Place'' (veraBra, 1993) * Frederic Hand, ''Frederick Hand's Baroque and On the Street'' (CBS, 1981) * Frederic Hand, ''Frederic Hand's Jazzantiqua'' (Musical Heritage Society, 1984) * Frederic Hand, ''Jazzantiqua'' (Musical Heritage Society, 1985) * Ron Horton, ''Genius Envy'' (Omnitone, 1999) * Daniel Humair, ''Surrounded 1964/87'' (Blue Flame, 1987) * Cleo Laine, ''Jazz'' (RCA Victor, 1991) * Bobby Previte, ''The 23 Constellations of Joan Miro'' (Tzadik, 2001) * M'lumbo, ''Celestial Ghetto'' (Pursuance, 2011) * M'lumbo, ''Tuning In To Tomorrow'' (Pursuance, 2012) * M'lumbo, ''Popular Science'' (Pursuance, 2013) * M'lumbo, ''Celestial Mechanics'' (Ropeadope, 2020)

References

External links

Jane Ira Bloom official siteThe New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Jane Ira 1955 births 21st-century American women musicians Living people Jazz soprano saxophonists American jazz soprano saxophonists American women jazz musicians Arabesque Records artists Jazz musicians from Massachusetts Yale School of Music alumni 21st-century American saxophonists American women jazz saxophonists JMT Records artists ArtistShare artists Columbia Records artists Enja Records artists