R & R Sunday Jazz Sessions: Fay Victor Group + Mary Larose / Obliggato

About

“Ms. Victor is a singer with her own brand: She’s theatrical and extreme without being campy. Expectations about a jazz vocalist’s demeanor — that it can’t be too aggressive, or that if it’s biting it can’t also be warm — don’t mean a thing to her. Sometimes melody leads to rhythm, or an explosion or a scream. Her affects are all scrambled. In that way, her playing sounds firmly planted in the age of digital media. When she does sing even or discernible pitches, her precision is remarkable. But even more striking is how conversational and direct it feels. She’s essentially invented her own hybrid of song and spoken word, a scat style for today’s avant-garde.” — Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times “Vocalist Fay Victor is one of the most creative singers on the contemporary jazz scene. The way she got there was to start in the blues and work her way through jazz’s musical vocabulary. You can hear her new albums on streaming, but not her roots, which are mighty as an oak’s.” — George Grella, Bandcamp Daily (6/26/2026) “An avant-garde Nina Simone with the performance punch of Betty Carter, Victor’s unabashed acrobatics mesmerize.” — Andy Cowan, MOJO Magazine For the next Sunday jazz session at Reason & Ruckus in Poughkeepsie, we present two sets of music featuring two uniquely creative vocalists. Headlining the evening will be the Fay Victor Group, led by the acclaimed, prodigiously talented singer, composer and bandleader Victor on voice, texts and effects. She will be joined by Jochem Van Dijk on bass guitar and effects, and Billy Martin (from Medeski, Martin & Wood) on drums and toys. For the opening set, we will present singer Mary LaRose and the ensemble Obliggato, featuring LaRose on vocals, Jeff Lederer on reeds, Joe Fiedler on trombone and Michael Bisio on bass. Based on LaRose's 2002 CIMP release Obliggato (with Lederer, plus trombonist Steve Swell and the late bassist Dominic Duval), Mary takes a free-wheeling approach to jazz vocalese with a diverse repertoire drawing from composers such as Ornette Coleman, Paul Motian and others. The Fay Victor Group and Mary LaRose / Obliggato will perform on Sunday, August 2 at Reason & Ruckus, located at 305 Main St in downtown Poughkeepsie. Doors will open at 6:30 PM, with music beginning around 7. $20 will be requested at the door. Biographies of Victor and LaRose follow below. Coming up for the R&R jazz sessions: September 27: Baba Andrew Lamb Trio Baba Andrew Lamb: tenor saxophone, flutes Hilliard Greene: bass Newman Taylor Baker: drums, washboard Opening set: Caroline Davis solo