Jane is a trailblazer and a true original in Canadian jazz. She has always played with elegance and grace. Every phrase she plays comes from the heart. I hope this recording sets Jane Fair in her rightful place in the Canadian modern jazz history. She was there from the beginning, slugging it out, doing what I thought wasn't possible as a woman instrumentalist. She was my inspiration, teacher, and is one of my musical heroes.
- Jane Bunnett
It is my opinion that Jane Fair has been an under-appreciated and an under-utilized voice in the Canadian jazz scene for far too long. I have always been a big fan of her great saxophone playing and her honesty and integrity to the music and her commitment to the cause of jazz education. It is my sincere hope that Jane's wonderful new release Chances Are will go a long way towards exposing Jane to a wide new audience. This recording, simply left on its own, really can't help but bring her more of the recognition she so rightly deserves.
- Campbell Ryga
Jane Fair, both as a saxophonist and as a composer, has been a seriously under-exposed and under-valued Canadian talent. This recording finds her at The Cellar in Vancouver, with a trio of that city's finest. In lieu of saying "What took so long?", let's say "Hallelujah" for a disc which captures Fair and comrades revelling in the night's playing.
- Nancy Walker
.. her idiomatic versatility and her melodic strength as a soloist are greatly admired.
- Mark Miller
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.
- James Hale (The Ottawa Citizen, July
23, 2002)
INTERVIEW
Jane Fair was interviewed by Guy MacPherson on the occasion of the release of Chances Are at the Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver.
Read the interview.
Review of the Jane Fair Quartet at the Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver, Sept 15, 2007, by Joe Montague