khokolat jazz bar,melbourne extract from street press

It all seemed to fall into place on Sat night - a new venue, a new band & a new atmosphere. The stylistic surrounds of the Khokolar Bar was the perfect environment for FREYjA to exercise their smooth & [polished sound. The place was still filling up as they bagan their show, finding their feet with smooth bass lines & alluring sax solos. For it was a different incarnation of FREYjA that was on display tonight, rather than the usual cast of suspects. In fact, lead singer Rebecca Rennie & Latin guitarist Gino Pengue were the only two original members of ths band. Greg Royal of Kate & Phil Cebrano fame ably took to the bass, Lachlan Davidson picked up the sax & Darren Ferugia did his stuff behind the skins.

This dynamic combo immediately came together on Heat Toss, the second song of the evening. It was beautiful rolling melody with a light samba beat that drew the frequently incoming crowd towards the stage. The first set had a very strong Latin feel with Pengue excelling on flamenco guitar. Variety was guaranteed with angelic ballads such as Down the Castle & Titania's Charm complementing the face paced South American rhythms. The group seemed to get better as theyw ent along, peaking with the groovy ska jive track Perfect World. With raunchy snarling vocals, fiery sax solos & wicked drum fills this was definitely the jazz jam highlight of the evening.

If the first set was Latin & Salsa, the second was definitely blues & funk. After tirelessly powering through several tracks from her forthcoming album The Siren's Odyssey, Rebecca & the band executed two choice covers. A bouncy version of After Midnight & a jazzy lounge version of T-Rex's Get It On had the audience demanding more. Rebecca herself brings incredible emotion to the music through her passionate character & physical enthusiasm. She is a talented songwriter & a wonderful singer. With the experience & variety of the musicians behind her, the opportunities & occassions for a band like fREYjA will surely create themselves. Adam Pont, InPress Magazine