Bio
About Gemma
Gemma Farrell is a jazz saxophonist, composer, educator, D'Addario Artist and Artistic Director of wayjo (WA Youth Jazz Orchestra). Currently a PhD candidate and lecturer in jazz studies at WAAPA, Gemma has led the WAYJO Pathways Program, Progressions (formerly known as Young Women in Jazz), since 2014. Under her leadership, the program was nominated for the APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for Excellence in Music Education in both 2023 and 2024. Her contributions to the field were recognised when she received the APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for WA State Luminary in 2024 and the Australian Women in Music Award for Humanitarian 2024.
In 2022, Gemma founded the Femme Composers Ensemble at WAAPA, a large ensemble dedicated to showcasing the music of people of marginalized genders. This ensemble evolved into the New Standards ensemble in 2024, continuing its mission of promoting diversity in jazz.
Gemma holds a Master of Music degree from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and a Bachelor of Music with Honours from the Queensland Conservatorium. Her band, the Artemis Orchestra, won the WAM Song of the Year in the Jazz Category in 2022 for their acclaimed recording of "The Elephant in the Room." She was also awarded Best Brass, String or Woodwind Instrumentalist at the 2020 WAM Awards, and has been nominated for 12 other WAM awards across various categories, including Best Jazz Act and Best Funk Act.
Gemma was one of 16 Australian musicians nominated for the Freedman Fellowship Award in the Jazz Category in 2022. To date, she has released nine albums as a leader, showcasing her prowess as both a performer and composer.
In July 2022, Gemma was featured as a guest artist with WAYJO's Monday Night Orchestra, where she highlighted the versatility of the saxophone family, the EWI, and her original compositions. In 2024, she conducted WAYJO’s Wednesday Night Orchestra at the State Theatre Centre, collaborating with Grammy-winning bassist Linda May Han Oh.
The Gemma Farrell Quintet is her primary project as a leader. Their debut album, "Organised Chaos," was released in 2018 and became a local feature album on RTRFM, also receiving airplay on ABC Jazz Radio. The Quintet has since toured extensively, performing at major jazz festivals across Australia, including the Perth International Jazz Festival, the Sydney Women’s International Jazz Festival, and the Melbourne Jazzlab. Their subsequent albums, "The View From The Top" (2022) and "Electronic" (2024), have received critical acclaim, with the latter earning a four-star review in The Weekend Australian.
As the founder and musical director of the Artemis Orchestra, a predominantly female big band, Gemma continues to champion the original music of Australian women, non-binary, and transgender composers. Their debut album, "Elephant in the Room," released in June 2021, garnered a five-star review in Dingo Australian Jazz Journal. The orchestra has performed at prominent events such as the Perth International Jazz Festival, Lyric Lane Jazz Festival, and Fremantle Arts Centre’s Sunday Music program.
Gemma's collaborative project MFG, alongside Cologne-based guitarist Nico Maas and Zurich-based keyboardist Thomas Goralski, has released three albums and completed multiple tours across Australia and Europe. The trio is set to tour and record again in 2025.
Beyond her performance and recording achievements, Gemma has made significant contributions as an educator. In August 2018, she represented WAYJO as a tutor at the Brubeck Institute’s Summer Jazz Colony at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
Gemma also leads the Femme Jam, a jazz jam session for people of marginalized genders, featuring an all-female house band.
Discography
Gemma recorded. Links to listen or purchase.
Electronic
Gemma Farrell Quintet
Gemma Farrell - Saxophones
Sam Hadlow - Trombone
Dan Garner - Guitar
Kate Pass - Bass
Ryan Daunt - Drums
Ninjaneered and mixed by Kieran Kenderessy at WAAPA, July 11-13, 2023. Mastered by Paul Große-Schönepauck at Skyline Tonfabrik studios Düsseldorf.
Album artwork by Shavaurn Hanson, layout by Marisa Santosa. Photography by Luke Riley.
Available here in hard copy and digital.
The View From The Top
Gemma Farrell Quintet
Gemma Farrell - Saxophones
Sam Hadlow - Trombone
Dan Garner - Guitar
Kate Pass - Bass
Ryan Daunt - Drums
Ninjaneered and mixed by Kieran Kenderessy at Loop Studios Perth, December 6 and 7, 2021. Mastered by Paul Große-Schönepauck at Skyline Tonfabrik studios Düsseldorf.
Album artwork and layout by Annie Mitchell. Photography by Josie Nolan. Get it HERE
The Elephant In The Room
Artemis Orchestra
Gemma Farrell - Musical Director
Daisy Fanning - Vocals (Track 3)
Lucy Iffla - Vocals (Track 5)
Laura Igglesden - Vocals (Track 8)
Erin Royer - Soprano Saxophone (Track 4, 7, 8 & 9), Alto Saxophone (Track 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 & 10), Tenor Saxophone (Track 9) & Clarinet (Track 3)
Holly Forster - Alto Saxophone (Tracks 1-10) & Flute (Track 3)
Claire Keet - Tenor Saxophone (Tracks 1-10) & Clarinet (Track 3)
Thea Woodward - Tenor Saxophone (Tracks 1-10), Flute (Tracks 3, 7 & 9) & Alto Flute (Track 3)
Jemima Mills - Baritone Saxophone (Tracks 1-10), Bass Clarinet (Track 3)
Charlie Teakle - Trumpet (Tracks 1-10) & Flugal Horn (Tracks 3, 5 & 8)
Julia Wallace - Trumpet (Tracks 1- 4, 6-10) & Flugal Horn (Tracks 3, 5 & 8)
Zoe McGivern - Trumpet (Tracks 1-10) & Flugal Horn (Tracks 3, 5 & 8)
Chris Zappa - Trumpet (Tracks 1- 4, 6-10) & Flugal Horn (Tracks 3, 5 & 8)
Jenny Bylund - Trumpet (Tracks 3 & 9) & Flugal Horn (Tracks 3 & 5)
Katie Hodson - Trombone
Holli Hatherly - Trombone
Halle Mitchell - Trombone
Sophie Bennett - Bass Trombone
Dan Garner - Guitar
Kirsten Symczycz - Piano
Kate Pass - Double Bass
Imogen Thomson - Vibraphone (Tracks 6 & 8), Congas (Tracks 4, 6 & 10), Shaker (Track 10)
Julius Rogers - Drum Kit
Ninjaneered and mixed by Kieran Kenderessy at Crank Recording Perth, January 18 and 19, 2021.
Mastered by
William Bowden at King Willy Sound Tasmania. Album Artwork by Grace Mander, Photography by Josie Nolan and Layout by Fred Farrell.
Available in hard copy and digital. Listen and Purchase HERE
Small Town Tennis Hero
MFG
Nico Maas - Guitar
Gemma Farrell - Tenor Saxophone
Thomas Goralski - Rhodes
with Kane Shaw on Electric and Double Bass
& Ryan Daunt on Drums
Tracks 1 & 5 composed by Gemma Farrell
Tracks 2 & 4 composed by Nico Maas
Tracks 3 & 6 composed by Thomas Goralski
Ninjaneered by Kieran Kenderessy at Rada Studios Perth, July 9 2018. Edited and mixed by Nico Maas and Thomas Goralski in Zürich. Mastered by Paul Große-Schönepauck at Skyline Tonfabrik in Düsseldorf. Album photography, design and layout by Fred Farrell. Pictured Tennis Heroine: Abigail Farrell.
Available Digitally. Listen and Purchase HERE
Organised Chaos
Gemma Farrell Quintet
Gemma Farrell - Soprano, Alto,Tenor, Baritone Saxophones
James van de Ven - Trombone
Christopher Sealey - Guitar
Kate Pass - Double and Electric Bass
Ryan Daunt - Drums
All tracks composed by Gemma Farrell. Album Artwork by Isabelle, Abigail, Isaac, Parker, Louis and Violet Farrell and Amberley Edgcumbe. Layout by Fred Farrell
Ninjaneered and mixed by Kieran Kenderessy at Rada Studios Perth, January 24 and 25, 2018. Mastered by Paul Große-Schönepauck at Skyline Tonfabrik studios Düsseldorf
Available in hard copy and digital. Listen and Purchase HERE
People Places Lizards
MFG
Gemma Farrell - Tenor Saxophone
Nico Maas - Guitar
Thomas Goralski - Piano and Hammond
Dario Schattel - Double and Electric Bass
Richard Struck - Drums
Recorded in Dusseldorf, 2016. Album artwork by Grace Mander.
Layout by Fred Farrell. Get it HERE
Live at the Brisbane Jazz Club
MFG
Gemma Farrell - Tenor Saxophone
Nico Maas - Guitar
Thomas Goralski - Piano
Joshua Hatcher - Double Bass
Nathan Goldman - Drums
Tracks 1, 3, 7, 8 & 10 composed by Gemma Farrell
Tracks 2, 5, 6 & 9 composed by Thomas Goralski
Track 4 composed by Nico Maas
Album Artwork and layout by Grace Mander. Additional layout by Fred Farrell
Recorded August 23, 2014 by Mark Smith live at the Brisbane Jazz Club.
Edited in Amsterdam by Thomas Goralski and mixed in Düsseldorf by Paul Große-Schönepauck.
Available in hard copy and digital. Listen and Purchase HERE
Vicissitude
Gemma Farrell Group
Gemma Farrell - Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone Saxophones
Robin Kahl - Trumpet and Flugal Horn
Filippo Vignato - Trombone
Nico Maas - Guitar
Thomas Goralski - Piano and Hammond
Theo Balbig - Electric and Double Bass
Richard Struck - Drums
All tracks composed by Gemma Farrell. Album Artwork by Grace Mander. Layout by Fred Farrell. Recorded May 18 and 19 by Paul Große-Schönepauck and Björn Mauder. Mixed also by Paul and Björn.Available in hard copy and digital. Listen and Purchase HERE
Get it Together
Say What?!
Recorded in Amsterdam, 2013.
Gemma Farrell - Soprano, Alto, Tenor Saxophones
Thomas Goralski - Hammond
Gianluca Liberatore - Double Bass
Stefan Franssen - Drums
with special guest: Nico Maas - Guitar
Tracks 1 & 7 by Thomas Goralski
Tracks 2 & 5 by Stefan Franssen
Tracks 3, 4, 6, 8 & 9 by Gemma Farrell
Album Artwork and Layout by Fred Farrell
Recorded April 19 by Dirk Hooglandt at Studio Dirk Amsterdam. Mixed also by Dirk. Available in hard copy and digital. Listen and Purchase HERE