Page 3 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast
Results 51 to 75 of 141

Thread: Snarky Puppy

  1. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by adap2it View Post
    It seems to me that they don't need to change anything. To be able to play what you want to play without compromise and be successful, is what most musicians dream of...

  2. #52
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    small town in ND
    Posts
    6,432
    They do come off as a little "slick", hence I do have to be in the right mood when I play them. But as noted above, to be able to play this music and make a living at it is very impressive.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  3. #53
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Portland, OR, USA
    Posts
    1,865
    I do know what you mean about having more "edge" - maybe a bit more dissonance in the writing, a bit more extended tonality, a bit more sense of setting out on an uncharted course.

    I have nothing but praise for their playing, though, except one odd quibble: I wish the horn section consisted of more than trumpets and tenor saxes. Sure, they're both great instruments, but just three trumpets and two tenor saxes? No alto, no baritone, no trombone? One album had a trombonist instead of the second tenor, and there was more color and warmth in the brass.

  4. #54
    While I agree about there being a degree of slickness to their sound, it's not something that bothers me personally. When I want to hear something more dissonant or edgy, there are plenty of other groups who fit that bill.

  5. #55
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Portland, OR, USA
    Posts
    1,865
    One thing I'd add:

    From what I understand about Michael League's working methods, the slickness is partially a consequence of the way he does things. He works unbelievably fast, and most tunes are never written down except for maybe a chord chart - he sings the horn lines, plays the guitar parts on bass, plays the keyboard parts on piano, shapes the arrangements verbally, and the players pick everything up by ear. The band can usually throw a tune together within an hour or so. But that also means they wind up going on gut reactions and using a lot of typical session-man hip licks, and accounts for the "Steely Dan with no vocals" feel of a lot of their stuff. So much of what you hear is what they learned in the North Texas State Jazz Program, and further honed over hundreds of recording sessions.

  6. #56
    Quote Originally Posted by Baribrotzer View Post
    One thing I'd add:

    From what I understand about Michael League's working methods, the slickness is partially a consequence of the way he does things. He works unbelievably fast, and most tunes are never written down except for maybe a chord chart - he sings the horn lines, plays the guitar parts on bass, plays the keyboard parts on piano, shapes the arrangements verbally, and the players pick everything up by ear. The band can usually throw a tune together within an hour or so. But that also means they wind up going on gut reactions and using a lot of typical session-man hip licks, and accounts for the "Steely Dan with no vocals" feel of a lot of their stuff. So much of what you hear is what they learned in the North Texas State Jazz Program, and further honed over hundreds of recording sessions.
    Funny, that is exactly what I was thinking when I typed my last response, but I ended up not writing it. Looks like we were thinking along the same lines.

  7. #57
    Member proggy_jazzer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Waterloo, IA, USA
    Posts
    1,549
    Quote Originally Posted by Baribrotzer View Post
    One thing I'd add:

    From what I understand about Michael League's working methods, the slickness is partially a consequence of the way he does things. He works unbelievably fast, and most tunes are never written down except for maybe a chord chart - he sings the horn lines, plays the guitar parts on bass, plays the keyboard parts on piano, shapes the arrangements verbally, and the players pick everything up by ear. The band can usually throw a tune together within an hour or so. But that also means they wind up going on gut reactions and using a lot of typical session-man hip licks, and accounts for the "Steely Dan with no vocals" feel of a lot of their stuff.So much of what you hear is what they learned in the North Texas State Jazz Program, and further honed over hundreds of recording sessions .
    Actually, an equally (if not more) important part of what you get with SP is a result of the hundreds of gigs that Michael League (and several of the other guys) did in the hard-core gospel music scene in and around DFW. There's some serious church in the music, and I'm not talking about religion or just the presence of the Hammond. Groove, baby, groove!
    David
    Happy with what I have to be happy with.

  8. #58
    There is an FM broadcast on Dime from November 2015
    NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!

  9. #59
    Another FM broadcast (the Juan les Pins concert from 2015) here (starts at 30'):
    http://www.rtl.fr/culture/arts-spect...azz-7779137831
    Last edited by unclemeat; 02-29-2016 at 04:26 AM.

  10. #60
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    10,223
    Just got a ticket to see them in Boston on 5/4, nice
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  11. #61
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Hudson Valley, NY
    Posts
    8,193
    Quote Originally Posted by NogbadTheBad View Post
    Just got a ticket to see them in Boston on 5/4, nice
    You're a live music BEAST.

  12. #62
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    10,223
    Quote Originally Posted by NogbadTheBad View Post
    Just got a ticket to see them in Boston on 5/4, nice
    Quote Originally Posted by chalkpie View Post
    You're a live music BEAST.
    Two days later going to NYC for Nik Bartsch Mobile, going to be a fun week.
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  13. #63
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Hudson Valley, NY
    Posts
    8,193
    Quote Originally Posted by NogbadTheBad View Post
    Two days later going to NYC for Nik Bartsch Mobile, going to be a fun week.
    There is a slim chance I'll make the NBM show - I'll let you know if I do. Kids have a ton of stuff that weekend.

  14. #64
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    10,223
    Quote Originally Posted by chalkpie View Post
    There is a slim chance I'll make the NBM show - I'll let you know if I do. Kids have a ton of stuff that weekend.
    Sweet, mine have left home
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  15. #65
    This thread of a non prog band needs to be moved OT immediately!

    (Or I'll start a thread here of a real live prog band -- Def Leppard ..)

  16. #66
    Member Dok's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Land of the Blue Smoke
    Posts
    385
    New album up for preorder

    http://store.snarkypuppy.com/pages/music

    Culcha Vulcha (2016)

    Fresh off of the heels of its tenth album, Family Dinner - Volume Two, the band is returning to its roots as an instrumental ensemble with a brand new collection of nine original songs. With no cameras, no audience, and the opportunity to overdub, they have crafted an album much darker and moodier than any before it. The typical flash and bombastic moments that Snarky Puppy is known for have been replaced by a more patient, restrained, and sonically creative approach to both composition and performance. The melodies are intricate, the counterpoint is fluid, and groove reigns supreme in mixes that are bass and percussion-heavy. Released April 2016.

  17. #67
    Member Since: 3/27/2002 MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    The Kingdom of YHVH
    Posts
    2,770
    excellent news!

    has every album they put out been recorded Live?
    Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?

  18. #68
    Member Dok's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Land of the Blue Smoke
    Posts
    385
    Quote Originally Posted by MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER View Post
    excellent news!

    has every album they put out been recorded Live?
    I believe their first 3 albums were 'normal' studio creations after which they went to filming the live in the studio experience. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

  19. #69
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Paris, France
    Posts
    1,065
    Quote Originally Posted by Dok View Post
    I believe their first 3 albums were 'normal' studio creations after which they went to filming the live in the studio experience. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
    Correct but the new one is all studio again.
    It's officially up for streaming here:
    http://www.npr.org/2016/04/21/474878...ntent=20160421

    After a couple of listens, I find it slicker and more subdued than We Like It Here and Sylva that I both really enjoy. There seems to be some kind of energy and sense of fun that came with the live studio recordings and that seem to be missing here. It's a first impression and I definitely need to spend more time on this new one though.
    Not just a Genesis fanboy.

  20. #70
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Portland, OR, USA
    Posts
    1,865
    Quote Originally Posted by Dok View Post
    Culcha Vulcha (2016)

    Fresh off of the heels of its tenth album, Family Dinner - Volume Two, the band is returning to its roots as an instrumental ensemble with a brand new collection of nine original songs. With no cameras, no audience, and the opportunity to overdub, they have crafted an album much darker and moodier than any before it. The typical flash and bombastic moments that Snarky Puppy is known for have been replaced by a more patient, restrained, and sonically creative approach to both composition and performance. The melodies are intricate, the counterpoint is fluid, and groove reigns supreme in mixes that are bass and percussion-heavy. Released April 2016.
    Sounds interesting. They're great, but I thought they were getting in a bit of a rut. Micheal League can write so fast, and the band can put a tune together and kill on it so fast, that the idea of having first-rate material seemed to be getting short shrift. What's the point of writing and rewriting and polishing and working up something that takes a step ahead, when Cory Henry and Larnell Lewis can play just as ferociously when you throw your first draft in front of them? They were still good on their last couple of albums, but seemed to be treading water compositionally. But I'm looking forward to giving this one a listen.

  21. #71
    I stumbled upon a copy of their Metropole Orkest CD in a local store, and I bought it. I'm a bit underwhelmed after a few listens. The material isn't that interesting, and the band seems less than inspired in this performance.

    They are playing in a beautiful old theater downtown here on May 5th, but I'm going to miss it due to the fact that I'm having surgery 3 days prior to the show. I hope they come back!

  22. #72
    This might have already been mentioned in this thread (I didn't read every post) but Universal Audio has a cool video of PUPPY using this AUDIO gear to record and it was quite entertaining. Which I stumbled upon after first seeing Puppy demoing the SUPRA amps (Jimmy Page) with a guitar gam. Which amazed me.

    search the SUPROUSA.COM site for:

    Lenburu - Bob Lanzetti, Chris McQueen, Michael League, Jonathan Maron, & Louis Cato

    Search YOUTUBE for:

    Apollo Artist Sessions Vol. VI: Fab Dupont & Jay Stolar feat. Snarky Puppy

    It is worth watching. It was for me, I never heard of Snarky Puppy until I stumbled upon this video a few days ago and now this thread.

    Thought I would share. I have no other knowledge of these guys but watching these videos and listening to their stuff in these links has made me a fan.


    Jim
    Last edited by jkleban; 04-26-2016 at 11:47 PM.

  23. #73
    Member Haruspex Carnage's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Everywhere, but currently NY
    Posts
    176
    i keep trying. i find their particular brand of fusion to be really obvious for lack of a better word. it's hip bro-jazz to my ears. there's none of that mystique or atonal space most of the modern jazz ensembles i like here with SP.

  24. #74
    Cool to watch the live vids now and then, but a whole album? Nah.

  25. #75
    Member Gerhard's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Cary, North Carolina, USA
    Posts
    346
    Stoked to be seeing them live, for the first time, at a lovely outdoor venue on Sunday, after passing on numerous opportunities at local clubs. Hope Mother Nature doesn't mess things up...

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •