Review: Gemma Farrell Quintet at Lyric’s Underground

Gemma Farrell Quintet's Electronic album launch at Lyric’s Underground
Saturday, May 4, 2024

With nine albums under her belt, including three as part of the Gemma Farrell Quintet and four solo albums, Gemma Farrell is a prolific jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. On Saturday night, it was time to celebrate another new addition to her impressive body of work as she and her quintet showcased their new album, Electronic.

The new record is all about jamming on the EWI (pronounced EE-wee), a novel electronic wind instrument invented by Nyle Steiner in the ‘80s, which Farrell discovered while studying for her master’s at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2010. At the time, Farrell was not confident improvising on the instrument, however, her more recent PhD research at the WA Academy of Performing Arts provided the opportunity to master the execution of the instrument.

Taking the album to the stage for the first time, Farrell performed on the Electronic Wind Instrument (or EWI) and saxophones, with Sam Hadlow on trombone, Dan Garner on guitars, Lucy Browning on electric bass and Ryan Daunt on drums.

As the launch occured on May the fourth, International Star Wars Day, songs one through eight included a small segment of Star Wars songs embedded into solos within each song. Farrell got the crowd involved in this as well, by giving away a free bucket hat to an audience member who could guess the Star Wars music embedded in the solos.

With all 10 songs from the album making up the set list, the Gemma Farrell Quintet wasted no time getting into it, launching into the first tune, Abigail’s Song. Revealing that the track was the first she had wrote after becoming a mother, Farrell performed passages on the EWI before the band joined the song mid-way through.

Another early highlight was Exposure Box, in which Farrel explores the notion of being asked to do things for free, introducing the song with her thoughts on the impact of streaming services on musicians.

The show continued with the tune, One For Bucket Hat Man, dedicated to a gentleman who saw the Gemma Farrell Quintet at the Perth International Jazz Festival in Busselton and proceeded to inform Farrell that the style of music they play “just doesn’t do it for him."

This was followed by the quintet’s “favourite song from the album," Tension, and a few more tracks, before they ended the show on the album closer, Aberdeen Street; a song written in memory of Gemma’s clubbing days at The Deen in her late teens.

The Gemma Farrell Quintet are well-worth seeing live. The music is incredible, the solos from each musician were enchanting and the band is captivating to watch.

Electronic is on sale now in hard and digital copies via Bandcamp.

ALEIGHSHA GLEW

Photos by Linda Dunjey