Jane Ira Bloom, one of few jazz soprano saxophonists who is full-time, is also a well-respected performer. Bloom is not considered avant-garde, but she works at the forefront of the mainstream. Although her music is influenced by jazz tonality and modalities, it’s not a traditional composition. However, her conception of form and structure are very personal. Although she isn’t a great improviser, her music is more than its parts. Her music has the hallmark of an individual thinker. Bloom started playing music at the age of 12. As an undergraduate at Yale University, she attended the Yale School of Music, and then went on to study privately at Berklee College of Music under Joe Viola. In the late 1970s, she moved to New York and studied with George Coleman, a Miles Davis sideman. Bloom started her own label, Outline, and began recording her albums. Fred Hersch, the pianist was a frequent collaborator. Enja’s 1982 album Mighty Lights was Bloom’s debut album for another label. She recorded two albums for Columbia in the late 1980s, where she tried out electronics — albeit, it could be argued, somewhat tentatively — Her recordings since then have been mostly for the Arabesque label. Bloom has received numerous awards for her music including the 2001 Jazz Journalists Award as well as the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll. Because of her interest in space exploration, Bloom was awarded a NASA Art Program commission. She also had an International Astronomical Union asteroid named after her. Flugelhornist Kenny Wheeler and Charlie Haden are among the musicians who have played in Bloom-led bands. Bobby Previte is a drummer, Julian Priester is a trombonist, and Previte is a bassist. Bloom is also part of Atlantic/Pacific Waves, a group that combines world music with jazz bassist Mark Dresser, Jin Hi Kim (Korean komungo player), and Min XiaoFen (Chinese pipa player). Bloom has composed music for television and dance. From www.allmusic.com
