Jazz saxophonist - Composer - Educator
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Jane Fair Quartet
Chances Are
CELLAR LIVE CL033003
Jane Fair, Tenor Saxophone
Bill Coon, Guitar
Jodi Proznick, Bass
Dave Robbins, Drums
Fu s Feast
Poco Luce
Chances Are
Lazy Afternoon
Johnny Come Lately
Released September, 2007
Recorded March 30th, 2003
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CELLAR LIVE RECORDS

Tenor saxophonist Fair . . . is a major talent and an extremely under-recorded Canadian. This new release of a live session at the Cellar in Vancouver in 2003 has her joined over five tracks by Bill Coon, Jodi Proznick and Dave Robbins. Don’t miss her look at Strayhorn’s “Johnny Come Lately.” - Len Dobbin (Montreal Mirror) 9/10 stars [link]


Jazz saxophonist Jane Fair is one of this country's great unknown musicians. A professional for more than three decades, she's divided her time between family, teaching and music, so her recording output has been minimal. This disc, recorded in 2003 at Vancouver jazz club The Cellar, is only the second she's put out under her own name, and lots of luck trying to find that first CD.

With an able supporting cast of guitarist Bill Coon, upright bassist Jodi Proznick and drummer Dave Robbins, tenor saxophonist Fair runs through three originals and two standards. On the opener, "Fu's Feast", she uses all parts of the horn, and utilizes space to great effect. The title track features a unison line with sax and guitar, and nimble brushwork by Robbins. Highlight of the set is the ballad "Lazy Afternoon", where Fair captures the poetic sensibility of the composition, holding notes and crafting phrases. - Marke Andrews (Vancouver Sun) 3½/4 stars. [link]



Jane Fair / Rosemary Galloway Quintet
Waltz Out
RGCD001-2 (2002)

Jane Fair (tenor, soprano saxophone)
Rosemary Galloway (bass)
Nancy Walker (piano)
Terry Clarke (drums)
Lina Allemano (trumpet, flugelhorn)

Waltz Out
Poco Luce
The Paths that Cross
Blue Velvet
Chances Are
T's Vamp
Fu's Feast
Little Dark One
Falling in Love with Love
Hear samples and buy it online at CDBABY
Jane on tenor and soprano saxophones and Rosemary on acoustic bass co-lead an adventurous quintet through both originals and standard material. With Nancy Walker on piano, Lina Allemano on trumpet and Terry Clarke on drums, the listener will enjoy a powerfully fresh personal approach from each player. These are seasoned players who have found new resonance and inspiration working together.
With the release of their CD Waltz Out in 2002 the group performed at the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Waterloo Jazz Festival, the Ottawa Jazz Festival, The Montreal Bistro and the Rex.
It's impossible to overstate the role saxophonist Jane Fair has played for women in Canadian jazz. Without the emergence of the Guelph native in the early '70s as the first Canadian-born female instrumentalist of consequence, there would likely be no Jane Bunnett -- an early student of Fair's -- or Ingrid Jensen. Bassist Rosemary Galloway has been another strong role model for Canadian women in jazz over the past 30 years. The quintet they co-led yesterday is the latest of three bands that have carried their names since 1981.

With Terry Clarke on drums, Lina Allemano on trumpet and Nancy Walker on piano, this is their best unit yet, and their program of post-bop originals bristled with energy. It is difficult to do anything but bristle with Clarke propelling a rhythm section. An economical, precise percussionist, he provided subtle support, stepping forward only briefly in T's Vamp -- a song Galloway wrote in his honour.

Along with Jensen, Allemano is one of the generation of younger female instrumentalists to follow on the heels of Fair and Galloway, and like Jensen she is exploding the stereotype that the trumpet is a male instrument. Echoes of Kenny Wheeler can be heard in her tart tone and artfully cracked notes, but Allemano also has a nicely burnished sound that's all her own.

Jane Fair / Rosemary Galloway Quintet
Ottawa International Jazz Festival
Reviewed by James Hale (The Ottawa Citizen, July 23, 2002)


Jane Fair Jazz Quintet
Radio Canada International RCI441 (1975) LP out of print
Jane Fair (saxophone)
Burke Mahoney (guitar)
Brian Hurley (bass)
Jeff Lapp (piano)
Raynald Drouin (drums)
Il s'en vient le spectacle
Mamba
Everything I Love
Champlain
Star Cap
Ruby My Dear
Guidone