Jane Ira Bloom – Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson

21st-century soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom reimagines the poetry of 19th-century visionary Emily Dickinson.
Jane Ira Bloom – soprano sax & compositions

Dawn Clement – piano
Mark Helias – bass
Bobby Previte – drums
Deborah Rush – spoken word

Bloom’s reimagining of Dickinson was ignited when she learned that the poet was a pianist and improviser, reaffirming Bloom’s intuitive connection to the jazz-like quality of Dickinson’s writing.

Jane Ira Bloom has been steadfastly developing her singular voice on the soprano saxophone for over 40 years creating a body of music that marks her as an American original. She is a pioneer in the use of live electronics and movement in jazz and is the winner of the 2018 GRAMMY Award for Best Surround Sound Album for her trio album “Early Americans.”

Bloom is a thirteen time winner of the Jazz Journalists Award for soprano sax of the year, the Downbeat International Critics Poll for soprano saxophone, the Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Award for lifetime service to jazz, the Charlie Parker Fellowship for Jazz Innovation and the International Women in Jazz Jazz Masters Award. She is the first musician ever commissioned by the NASA Art Program and was honored to have an asteroid named in her honor by the International Astronomical Union (asteroid 6083janeirabloom). She’s garnered numerous awards for her creativity including a Guggenheim Fellowship in music composition and a residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. A new jazz festival in Brooklyn, NY featuring cutting edge woman artists was named in her honor (The Bloom Festival).

Wild Lines was made possible by Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works Program funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Foundation.