Freyja Garbett, a Berklee graduate has made a remarkably innovative album. From her Bandcamp website:
“Garbett’s heady compositions draws influence from a vast range of styles and musicians. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, she lists pianists and composers such as Fred Hersch, Gerald Clayton and Maria Schneider as critical influences to her music, along with the likes of Flying Lotus, J Dilla and Snarky Puppy.
“The pieces from my debut album are an exploration of an electro-acoustic approach to jazz composition and improvisation,” begins Garbett. “These compositions are springboards for improvisation and creativity. An added element to my approach is that all of the musicians can manipulate their instrument’s sound drastically – the arrangements of the pieces can be expanded on, therefore creating ambient textures of the studio produced music that I listen to. On stage, we have the facility to offer audiences a fiery multi-dimensional performance.”
Previously sharing both performances and recordings with artists in the New York and Boston scenes – including Dave Fiuczynski’s Planet MicroJam, Garbett’s recent accolades include a commission by SIMA and APRA AMCOS to compose and perform with the Sydney Women’s Jazz Collective at the 2017 Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival.”
For an album laden with hip-hop and nu-jazz, this was a joy to hear.
Freyja Garbett – piano/rhodes/organ/synths
Felix Lalanne – Guitar
Simon Ferenci – Trumpet
Nish Manjunath – Tenor saxophone
Michael Avgenicos – Tenor saxophone
Jacques Emery – Electric and double bass
Alexander Inman- Islop – Drums
Jesse Ciampa – Percussion
Erin Badman (Esmé) – vocals
George Thomas (Ltl Gzeus) – vocals
