Claire will tell that Sept. 23, 1971 was the day her life changed. She had been playing saxophone since she was 3 months old and heard a big band concert at Westchester County Center. Claire was screaming as the saxophone section rose for a soli and Claire was still on her seat. After walking her father to the stage for autographs, she said about the Buddy Rich Band bus, “I would do anything to ride on that bus.” This was the epiphany that only young passion can bring, but it is still what drives her musical career. After attending Berklee College of Music she started a different kind of education — earning a living as an artist. She has been the saxophonist in the Diva Big Band for seven years. She also freelancing in New York, doing every kind of gig possible (available upon request). ), 5 CDs recorded with Joel Forrester, the brilliant, quirky composer/pianist, and their band “People Like Us”, and two CDs as leader of Koch Jazz (“Swing Low”) and “Movin’ On”, now re-released by Dalybread Records, and a new release entitled “Heaven Help Us All” (Dalybread Records). Her performances have been on many CDs, films scores, jingles and at numerous festivals and venues. Claire started a long-term project in the fall of 2005. She traveled the country performing gigs, searching for hidden gems of jazz, and interviewing them on camera. This helped her plan a documentary. The William Jefferson Clinton Library, Little Rock, Ark, was established in October 2005. As Swing Low was her first CD, Claire requested that it be added to a listening station. This was to show how important the CD was to her as an album. Claire is a musician and bandleader who has been a six-time winner of the Downbeat Critic’s Poll, “Talent Deserving Greater Recognition”. She also won the Jazz Journalist Association category “Baritone Sax of the year ’05”. She is currently working on a composition that will be inspired by Mary (Toppy), her second cousin. Joyce was the first non-Alaskanian to travel 1,000 miles by dogsled alone from Fairbanks in 1936. Her story is an American classic. Claire is currently planning a multi-media event to honor Toppy’s passing. from http://www.clairedalymusic.com
