Soprano saxophonist and composer Jane Ira Bloom has established herself as a major player in the world of modern jazz. Her music includes a unique incorporation of electronics and has been honored by Downbeat, Time Magazine, and the International Association of Jazz Educators. Jane was the first composer to be commissioned by NASA and can be seen at both major festivals and clubs nationally and internationally.

Jane has never questioned being anything else but a musician. From her earliest memories, she can remember being fascinated with musical instruments. She knew she loved music and it was clear very early on that she had a “special feeling for it.” When Jane was four, she began improvising early on without realizing it. She had a piano teacher who would show her what chord changes were and how to write things out, so that even when she began to study the piano, she was also improvising at the same time. So, her learning process went hand in hand with improvising and studying written form as well. Improvising always seemed intuitive to Jane because it was just a part of what she did. When she was studying with Joe Viola at the age of twelve, she was exposed to the soprano, which was a passion of his. She can remember him playing the piano and thinking: “I like that. I want to play like that.”

When Jane was in college at Yale, it became clear to her that being a musician was the only thing she could do, because music had chosen her. Looking back, Jane believe college was her most invaluable exposure to becoming musician. Her time at Yale was when she really started to work playing in clubs and putting on concerts of original music. Highly regarded jazz artists and innovative thinkers, such as Anthony Davis, George Lewis, and David Naught, all happened to be at New Haven at one time. There were a lot of musicians around, a lot of opportunities to play with like-minded players,  and a little burst of activity in New Haven during the 70’s. This very time period was Jane’s training ground.

When Jane began playing in the early 70’s, there was a lot of “consciousness in the air” about women’s issues. There were women’s jazz festivals that Jane played at, and had they not been there she might not have been heard. They were the one venue that Jane saw a possibility to play, and at that point in time she would have played “anyplace, anywhere, anytime.” So there was something beneficial about that environment at that time. Yet, it has been her point of view that things haven’t changed as much as she had hoped they would in twenty years. When she first started playing, she thought things would be a lot better: the playing field would be a lot more equal, mostly in respect to the business environment of jazz. This is problematic especially because there are women players who are now out there playing horns, drums, bass, and “all the things that were not considered instruments for women to play in jazz.” The thing that upsets Jane is that when she talks to some of these younger women, she is still hearing some of the same stories she remembered listening to twenty years ago about social acceptance and business acceptance. So it has gotten better, but not as quickly, and not as much, as Jane had thought.


Vi Redd
 

Vi Redd has a distinguished career as a saxophonist, vocalist and educator. Redd has taught in elementary and college classrooms and has performed on concert stages both in America and abroad. She was a consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science and has been honored by the Los Angeles Jazz Society and the Smithsonian.

Redd can confidently say her family was “all about the arts.” As far back as she can remember there was music in the house. Growing up, she heard all types of music and had been taught by her aunt, Alma Julia Webster Hightower, to play marches, overtures, and jazz. Redd did not start the saxophone until she was about thirteen years old.

When reflecting on the history of how women have been treated in the world of jazz, Redd can see it is improving as she sees younger women musicians playing. Yet, the world of jazz has not changed a whole lot, in her opinion. For Redd, the key is to be aggressive. Redd believes that women have to be aggressive and say “Hey, I want to be heard too.” Redd still gets “snubs after all these years sometimes,” but she still makes a point to play which leads her male colleagues to simply just say “Oh, okay.”