Review – Rebecca Rennie @ Spiral LoungeNYC Theater, New York 16 Sep 99 Rebecca Rennie is known to many of us in Sydney as the front for jazz outfit Freyja, as well as her tireless efforts behind the scenes of many a music nights around town. The music she creates crosses numerous genre boundaries and combines the same, but recently that music has been taken to the world as part of the Big Backyard music showcase juggernaut.
Appearing at no less than the Spiral Lounge NYC Theater in September, Becc and her band du joir explored many of these music stylings, from jazz blues, to mamboesque freeform jazz. She seemed a little limited in her stage movement, probably due to the camera trained on her, recording this moment for prosterity, as well as future webcasts on OnlineTV, and the lighting could have been focused a little better on the other band members (there was a saxophonist there somewhere – I could hear him!). And it would appear that audience chatter is part of the jazz tradition, with tonight’s crowd, albeit receptive to Rebecca’s work, more interested in their own catch-up conversations than the musicianship being displayed on stage. The world is Rebecca Rennie’s oyster and with continued participation in and backing from such nights as these, this gem isn’t too far from being an international pearler!