Review: LUCI at The Ellington Jazz Club

LUCI at The Ellington Jazz Club
Friday, March 21, 2025

It was an electrifying night under the neon lights at the Ellington on Friday as LUCI performed their debut album, The Suite, in full for the first time. The celebrations were met with raucous cheers from family and friends that packed out the venue, with many bottles of red wine flowing and the bartenders delivering a steady stream of espresso martinis.

There seemed to be an undercover dress code. The girls were dressed all in black with long, pointy boots and hair slicked back, while the men were in baggy shirts and baggy jeans with matching caps. Whatever they wore, their heads and bodies swayed to the percussive beats delivered courtesy of drummer Sam Rietkerk, whose hair flowed long and free, often swaying into his face, making many in the audience question how he could play so well if he couldn’t even see.

In fact, all the musicians seemed to have a natural connection to each other and their instruments through the music. The guitars were simply an extension of their arms, and the two keyboards were one with player Peter Luckas’ whole body, including his moon boot leg, which did not slow him down at all, even when he moved between the two different forms of the piano seamlessly.

The conversation of music flowed from Peter towards the group in the middle, Nik Masotti and Jay Cernohorsky, who are the guitarists in the group. Seb Price on bass was the backbone of the group, adding to the layers and depth of the musical conversation between the two guitarists and changing and adjusting the mood from the lead of the keys. Finally, the conversation flowed back to Sam, who added his finishing touches. The boys seemed to laugh and joke with this conversation, with a silent understanding of the music.

The audience seemed to greatly appreciate the impressive musicality on display. Although their mouths moved at times in conversation, their devoted eyes remained fixed on the performance.

Although they are traditionally an instrumental band, LUCI were joined by two fellow musicians to give some vocal additions to their work. First, they were joined by Tom Norman, a rap artist who changed the flow from jazz and blues to something more reminiscent of their 90s neo-soul sound. The upbeat change through lyrics hyped up the crowd, sending whoops and cheers back to the musicians.

Norman was then followed by PERSIA, a local R&B artist. PERSIA is a returning collaborator with the five-piece, working together on songs like Outlandish and Goodbye. The soulful singer was a welcome addition to the late-night jazz club, creating a sense of clarity in the chaotic Ellington.

Following the departure of PERSIA, LUCI finalised their groovy set with two finishing songs. Neither the band nor the audience seemed to want to leave the packed Ellington, with the music leaving everyone present in some sort of magnetic trance.

Overall, LUCI’s launch party for The Suite was a definite success and a wonderful marker of what to expect in the future from the band.

ELLA HARRISON

Phots by Muhammad Imran