Freyja Garbett’s debut record MAYA – a spectacular, immersive waltz through rich jazz laden soundscapes.
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.”
The next single off Maya is Afro Beast – Garbett’s sublime dedication to Afrobeat’s pacing rhythms. Tapping drums and clicking guitars are led to a mellow stride as the song swans between compositional elements. At times, the fullness of the ensemble glows with lush horn segments and warm backing instrumentals. At other moments, the music takes a more humble form, letting each instrument speak without interruption from its peers. Garbett’s style is almost transdimensional due to this reason – leaving the listener with knowledge of the ‘here and there’ she deigns to share.
“I’ve always adored Afro Beat music,” says Garbett. “I wrote this tune whilst staying in NYC earlier this year. Due to jetlag I would wake up at four or five each morning. I would pour a huge mug of drip coffee and plug in my midi keyboard. Initially I dragged a Tony Allen sample into Ableton and used that as the basis for the groove. Alex Inman (our drummer) created his own unique take on this, which I love. The horn melody is quite modal and centers around a combination of generic intervals in the key of B minor. I would then invert, reverse and syncopate these simple modal constructs. This eventually made for a really hip melody that I was super proud of! I would do this every morning for as long as the coffee high allowed.. then solidly pass out again.”
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. Her compositions are rich, mature and immersive – serving as a foreword to a long and promising career – and have already opened up exciting opportunities for Garbett come 2020.
Freyja Garbett’s Maya is out now.
