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Thursday Jazz: Snarky Puppy



Words By Zach Zeidner

Tell Your Friends

It’s very rare you come across a band these days in the contemporary music scene that captures the sheer reminiscence of a yesteryear in music where everything seemingly was perfect. In other words, it’s not quite often you come across a band that so precisely taps into the avenues of the music of the sixties and seventies while at the same time maintaining the ability to remain innovative in a consistently evolving music scene. Snarky Puppy is a Brooklyn-based funk-rock instrumental fusion band that originates from Denton, Texas where the members met and formed the band at the University of North Texas. The band has about thirty interchanging members that depend on where in the country the band is touring at the time and who has what availability. The members include Michael League, Mark Lettieri, Bob Lanzetti, Justin Stanton, Shaun Martin, Bill Laurance, Chris McQueen, Robert "Sput" Searight, Nate Werth, Mike Maher, Jay Jennings, Chris Bullock, Ian Rapien, and Zack Brock as well as others. This band has been around since 2004 and has consistently been turning heads. The members of Snarky Puppy have the professional chops of standard jazz musicians, whilst at the same time incorporating the innovative mentality of the fusion movement into an ultimately danceable instrumental funk rock collective. With extremely rhythmic songs and funky horn arrangements that explore the centrifugal abilities of funk compositions, the band can drive a funky dance tune into an elaborate modal jam complete with tempo challenging solos and spacious tone experimentation.



Their newest album which came out in 2010 entitled Tell Your Friends does not disappoint the least bit. The album is consistent with their other albums except that Tell Your Friends includes some live tracks that give you a little sample of what they have to offer in a live setting. The album is full of lavish compositions that truly demonstrate the unique talent this young group of musicians have to offer. The album is intricate yet danceable, tactile yet elusively complex, as well as heavy and flowing at the same time. At points during this album you’ll have to check who it is because it’ll sound like you’ve stumbled across some lost Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters album. Get lost in a world of translucent experience which is the Snarky Puppy and look for them on their upcoming Spring Tour, they are sure not to disappoint.

Purchase Snarky Puppy's Album "Tell Your Friends" on Amazon

www.snarkypuppy.com



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