Jane Ira Bloom
b. 1955, Newtown, Massachusetts, USA. Bloom studied music as a child and mastered the saxophone in her teens. She turned down an opportunity to tour with the Duke Ellington orchestra in favour of taking BA and MA degrees at Yale University. In 1977, she studied under George Coleman in New York and in 1979 formed her own record label, Outline. She recorded two albums, the second with Marimba and vibes player David Friedman, who introduced her to a wider public through his contact with the German label, Enja. In 1982 Bloom recorded with Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell, establishing herself as one of the most prominent players and composers to emerge from the '70s. She recorded two more albums during the late '80s, and continues to play in a variety of settings (she has appeared solo in the Houston baseball Astrodome). Bloom recently declared that her aim is 'to bring more avant garde improvising to people who don't usually listen to it'.