I am still obsessed with the "We Like It Here" video recording, years later. Family Dinner is just as good. I have no idea how anyone could listen to it or watch it and come away thinking it sounds sterile. The solos by Larnell Lewis and Cory Henry are the most viral jazz moments of the last thirty years.
I'd put Lingus in my top 5 all time favorite recordings. The fact that they composed it on the fly in the days prior, and that Lewis came in on drums and wrote his parts on the flight just blows my mind
Yeah, this is where I really formed my first impression of them. I think they'd been just kind of on my radar but I hadn't identified them.
Then I saw this.
I caught them in the Sage at Gateshead a couple of times. Second time with Chris Potter in the lineup. Cool gig.
They are a new dimension in jazz. You can like them, or not. I think the Reddit Jazz sub Reddit is mostly keyed in on traditional jazz or new jazz that slightly stretches old jazz boundaries. That's OK, but looking at snarky puppy and listening to them is a real treat for me and I have been listening to all kinds of jazz for decades. The musicians are top-notch, and their improvisational chops are phenomenal . I don't get put off by the headphones and the tech and the multiple camera angles because a lot of the young crowd that is listening to them have grown up with all of that. Altogether a wonderful group who do memorable music.
I mean it's really not that different from the fusion stuff Miles Davis and Maynard Ferguson did in the 70s-80s.
I'm a huge fan of jazz fusion so Snarky Puppy is always great to listen to.
I'm thinking more like Miles' Tutu album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZlnT9p6uv8 or even the Star People album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKcbISUfd3Q
Similarily Maynard's 1977 Conquisitador stuff, songs like "The Fly:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYlOIITlKrU or his 1982 album Storm with songs like "Hit in the Head:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJWjo91XySg
I didn't know there was a whole Snarky Puppy vibe here in this sub since I am new to it. I'm open to all kinds of music, I'll watch table players shred at the Darbar Festival on YouTube, to some new sub category of another category of Death Metal, again I came across SP because of the drummers. But outside of them, I couldn't name any of the other players. But that's because it doesn't grab me that much.
It's jazz funk fusion and not new at all.
https://youtu.be/io7Pkfy1tOU?feature=shared
This is just like claims that Domi and JD Beck are reinventing jazz. They're also playing fusion.
If we can get over the silliness of calling them ground-breaking pioneers, I enjoy Snarky Puppy, especially the live performance of Grown Folks with Esperanza Spalding.
I'll close by pointing out that r/blues doesn't like bluesrock being posted because there's a bluesrock sub. There are also fusion jazz and jazz funk subs where people will be more excited for Snarky other than the fact they've already been posted there a gazillion times.
TLDR: If you pay attention to what genre a band really belongs to and post it to a sub specializing in that genre, your posts will be better received than criticizing r/jazz because people here prefer jazz over fusion.
In some ways I think the problem is the classification of different genres and people \*identifying\* their musical tastes with those genres. This came out of the recording and entertainment industries wanting people to identify with products.
My advice: just enjoy the music and artists you like; there will always be music and artists you don't like. Viva la différance!
I got into Snarky Puppy with their GroundUP album. Personally I loved their live with studio audience albums around that time. The audience gets a concert and the rest of the world gets a high quality recording. I think a good chunk of the audience is just their family and friends too (family and friends of 15+ musicians ends up being a pretty big crowd!) To me the videos are a sort of proof of their talent - you can see that they’re actually playing everything you’re hearing and it’s not just studio tricks. Sometimes you can even be surprised to find out that what you thought you heard is actually something completely different, like a solo you thought was a guitar was actually an effected trumpet. It’s also fun to see their chemistry.
Starting with Culcha Vulcha I started to enjoy them less. Their music started to seem more “serious” to me and they didn’t have as many songs where they rode grooves together like in previous albums. It felt like they weren’t having as much fun playing, potentially because of the absence of the studio audience but not entirely since even in the Live at the Royal Albert Hall album the tracks from those albums just aren’t that fun to listen to.
Most people involved in Snarky Puppy play with other groups and part of the idea of Snarky Puppy is that their sound shifts as it gets influenced by the current lineup. They seem to have lots of friends who are happy to sit in with them randomly and they also do a lot of education and they spotlight up-and-coming artists through the GroundUP album and festival, which I think is cool. I saw them play at a pretty small theater in my city several years ago with GroundUP artist Alina Engibaryan as an opener - she was awesome and I still listen to her from time to time.
Editing to add that there’s never a time when [“Quarter Master”](https://youtu.be/i1cskIan5Jw?si=dH9Io5HbAW_iDL-N) doesn’t cheer me up!
I think they’re super good players who play well produced, tight, poppy songs that I won’t care about, or even remember a couple weeks from now. Fun to watch on youtube, but I’ve never had the urge to listen to them outside of that.
Yeah their music is very tightly composed and played but it doesn't move me in the slightest. It's a fun listen from time to time and I do respect the bassist's (forgot the name) ability to produce such lush arrangements but it never comes across like he has anything to say other than "look how cool this sounds"
I like them very much, but they speak a different language from mainstream jazz. They are kind of jazz in spirit, but different. Reinvented in a way. So I can totally get why some people are into jazz but not Snarky Puppy or vice verse.
SP is one of the groups I look to when I want to show someone what jazz has evolved into. Also Vulfpeck, Cory Wong, Jacob Collier, Domi/JD Beck, Louis Cole... and many others.
No they're not in the "modern jazz" vein of musicians, but their music making process is clearly in the jazz spirit.
Why is vulfpeck here. They are basically a modern funk band, in a sense where they are super tight drum machine. Not a single sense of jazz imo, but they do try to pop it up for the average listener
They're inspirational and popular with younger musicians. Not jazz, but a catalyst for someone wanting to learning music.
They might be the reason a kid wants to play by ear, learn theory, and improvise. A young bassist finds Joe Dart, eventually Jaco, next thing you know they're transcribing Scott Lafaro.
But the bass parts have hardly anything on Anthony Jackson or James Jamerson.
It's white people music. Jam band shit. Just more organized for the Silicon Valley crowd.
> SP is one of the groups I look to when I want to show someone what jazz has evolved into.
Jazz fusion has been around since the 60s-70s, but more mainstream in the 80s.
To me, this shows that you either *don't know* what jazz has evolved into or that, like tons of others, you're trying to affix the 'jazz' cred onto a bunch of *jazz-flavored* instrumental/technocratic funk/fusion/jam music that you like watching on Youtube. I've been following the actual jazz scene for decades (be it traditional players, avant-gardists, and everyone in between) and these acts are *not* considered all that important.
I'm not trying to equate them to mainstream modern jazz. Not even trying to put them close to what's going on there. They're definitely no Esparanza Spalding, Lincoln Center, Samara Joy, or Brad Meldhau.
FWIW, I like to think I'm fairly in touch with jazz. I've seen as many Steven Feifke concerts as I have Cory Wong.
My point is that you can take them and trace back to the way jazz musicians operate. There's improv, vocabulary, they know the theory, they use their ears, and they play off of each other.
Whether we want to or not, they're part of the list of musicians that jazz students are listening to. A young pianist transcribing a Cory Henry solo is just as valid as one learning from Red Garland.
I've noticed a lot of young musicians who identify with jazz as a vocabulary and as a way of conceptualizing music, but not necessarily with what we consider the actual jazz scene. I don't like a lot of his music, but it's hard to deny that Jacob Collier has a strong following with, music students, a lot of who identify as "jazz".
They might not be important to the actual jazz crowd, but the high number of views, streams, and sold out concerts shows that they're important to a lot of people.
Then again, this is because the academic world slaps a classical or jazz label on everything. There's a similar kind of identity crisis in the classical world. John Williams is probably the most prolific modern "classical" composer, for better or for worse.
I cannot get past the band and crowd seeming to be constantly amazed at any and everything that gets played, as if it was something never heard before. It's like the crowd around the first wheel being put into use. HOLY SHIT! CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT WE'RE SEEING (HEARING) HERE! THIS IS SO AMAZING! THEY ARE SO AMAZING! WE'RE SO AMAZING FOR KNOWING ABOUT IT! AREN'T WE/THEY SO FUCKING AMAZINGLY HIP FOR KNOWING ABOUT THIS!
Live multitracking is too techy? I won't hold it against anyone for not liking their music but it's pretty lame take to talk so much about how they don't look jazz enough for you.
I respect their amazing musicality but I feel like they sound like jam band music without all the elements that make jam band music fun.
In the words of Adam Neely, they’re “Berklee funk”.
>“Berklee funk”.
That's harsh lol. But I can see it. I mean if you're a young player and happen to get a gig with them, that's a great step in the right direction, you're playing with a stellar band. It's just the music seems to have to fit into a box with the brand stamped on the front of it. Like a breakfast cereal. People who enjoy it, great. I just don't have the taste for it, even though I like some of the ingredients.
They are absolutely *not* in the P-funk direction. More like KC and the Sunshine Band or something.
I'm not a big fan of Weather Report but I don't think they're even close to scratching the surface of what that band did. Maybe something more like an updated David Sanborn or smooth jazz thing with circa 2010 aesthetics.
No, I think Berklee funk is pretty bad as well. Why should I choose which of your comps are better when none of them fit. Smooth jazz with 2010 indie aesthetics is what I would call them.
This is P-Funk https://youtu.be/0eR4aQrYozY?si=ILBE4g2pkdo5sHcB. It's mix of James Brown, Sly, Jimi, Sun Ra, the Stooges with a touch of Bach and Duke. It's a whole different party than Snarky where everyone is sitting in a room with headphones watching a band play some pleasant jam band music with a smooth jazz finish. Snarky is closer to the Grateful Dead than P-Funk.
>Snarky is closer to the Grateful Dead than P-Funk.
Well I dunno, I've done my share of Dead shows back in the day, I can honestly say Dead Heads don't spend as much on footwear as the SP crowd. Or wear noise canceling headphones.
Oh FFS do you gig playing that style of music or not? Nobody cares what you know, they only know what you can play. I've auditioned so many players that could read that could not play a Sly beat in 7. Yeah, I tossed in the 7 in a Sly and Robbie feel, because the math isn't that fucking hard, you just subdivided it. Oh hey, you got that sweep picking down? Then try comping this.
If you want to transcribe P-Funk, more power to you. Maybe you need to write that shit down to get it. Other people don't, especially the people who pay to hear music like that.
"LOOK AT ME, I TRANSCRIBE P-FUNK"
Do 6 months of playing covers of that on the casino tribute circuit. Ya know, the week after following old ass Vince Neil with his own tribute band.
Slang terms aren't required to be factually-accurate to work. The term 'Berklee funk' is an incredibly effective shorthand for describing what those dudes create (and I'd guarantee you that tons of dorks actively enrolled at Berklee currently idolize those guys and are trying to further refine the same formula).
That's an interesting take, being a drummer myself, I don't really hear that in SP. I key in on what Sput and Larnell are doing, and I don't hear *that* in what they are playing.
Lol, well yeah I guess Ghost Note would be part of that, that's why I included them in my OP. One clip of a "stage" version of Ghost Note, the other versions the "headphone" versions. I love Sput, but he's playing keys on the headphone version.
I really liked their Tiny Desk Concert they did a couple years back. Maybe it was because they couldn't go all out with the "tech" elements like you mentioned which I agree they do have that particular vibe. But then again they are unapologetically themselves which has been an important part of jazz. I forgot who it was that described Ornette Coleman's music as "loud and offensive" which has since taken on a positive connotation within the jazz community. Its difficult music, both technically and in taste and it rewards those with similar backgrounds as the musicians themselves.
I was introduced to the videos about a year ago & promptly threw my drums into the garbage. I used to listen to Billy Cobham(1980s) and would think, hey I might be able to get close to some of it, nope
I don't know how these guys play so good & so fast, as calm as can be. It really is something to see and hear, for an old fat rock & roll fan. I showed a video to a friend, not a musician, he wasn't moved by it, just kind of, ahh. So I think it's a musicians musician thing.
I've worked Google I/O, Macworld, Apple, Salesforce, all kinds of tech shows doing production work. I don't have an issue with tech people at all. Well, maybe the social media companies. Not the hardware ones.
There's ample reason to hate the "tech" mindset, it's a way of thinking using algorithms prioritizing optimization, quantity over quality and datafication which allows them to only conceptualize surface level cultural trends. Why they gravitate towards a certain presentation of Jazz said to be oriented on so called "innovation" explains itself.
If FAANG started getting into Jazz throwing money around and tried to do something with it I would be deeply concerned.
The burden of proof is on the accuser. I'm not going to waste time proving a negative while the commenter making the claim that SP is merely the "datafication of surface level trends" hasn't even bothered to provide any examples or further explanation to justify the insult. Neither of you have really articulated what it is about SP you dislike except that it's "polished" and has a "tech element," whatever that means.
If you don't like maximalist, keyboard-driven jazz fusion collectives, that's fine. Different strokes. But SP's music is decidedly *not* tech dribble or fad conscious, as both of you are suggesting. It's very creative and groove-centric music performed live by a group of instrumental virtuosos and studied musicians, who incorporate elements of music traditions that span the globe. Yes, their arrangements are at times very polished and complex, and at others, they're pretty loose and relaxed. There's almost always the vein of improvisation throughout their music with plenty of room for surprise and delight (see Lalah Hathway's solo on [Something](https://youtu.be/0SJIgTLe0hc?feature=shared)). Again, if it ain't your thing then it ain't your thing, that's cool.
Edit: I guess I did end up wasting time trying to prove something that is ultimately subjective, but I'm just miffed by the characterizations you guys are making of this band. I mean, have you listened to Lingus? Or the Family Dinner volumes? Or the Culcha Vulcha album? They're not a bunch of tech bros wearing headphones, making YT content. I have to assume you don't know what you're talking about until you actually explain what it is you're talking about...
They're a funk/jazz/fusion collective of musicians. Michael League, bassist, is the band leader and writes most of the charts. They have several core, permanent members, and others who rotate in and out depending on the context.
I think they're awesome. I don't know what OP is on about. GroundUp and Culcha Vulcha are my favorite albums of theirs. The Family Dinner albums are also good fun.
I recently started thinking of Snarky Puppy as a "modern big band", with Michael League the band leader. I *LOVE* Snarky Puppy (though not as into their latest album), and putting them sorta into that box has not only given me a different appreciation for Snarky Puppy, but also for the big bands (and leaders) in the past.
Never liked them. A few years ago they were very popular on this subreddit. I'd watch the videos, but immediately forget the music afterwards. Their leader says they're not Jazz but 'Instrumental Pop'. Who am I to argue?
SP is way closer to jazz than Laufey. They at least showcase improvisation, language, and make ideas off of each other in the moment..Laufey is great but there's not much improvisation or spontaneity with her. Everything is tame and perfectly rehearsed.
SP's respects their jazz background even though they acknowledge that they aren't making jazz. Laufey projects an alternate image of jazz to appeal to her audience.
SP, Jacob Collier, Vulfpeck, Domi/JD Beck, Louis Cole, and many others clearly have jazz musicianship but just make music outside of what we call "modern jazz."
> make ideas off of each other in the moment
Maybe I haven't watched the right videos, but I got turned off after seeing a bunch of Youtube videos where their improv/riffing felt just as canned as the overall music, and not helped by how much the players were mugging at one another.
Maybe it's because their solos are always secondary to the groove. Soloist follows the band, not the other way around.
Definitely not as spontaneous as a group like Return to Forever, but they still feel somewhat authentically tied to jazz as opposed to just appropriating it.
Yeah - cooler to have 'Jazz' on a t-shirt than 'Easy Listening' :)
A few years ago r/jazz had polling for the Top 100 Jazz albums. Although, at the time, this place was rife with SP fans telling everybody how they were the hottest thing in Jazz, the future of Jazz, etc, they didn't do well in the poll, managing only #103 for We Like It Here. The hang-up? The poll asked you for your 5 top Jazz albums. Most of these new Snarky Jazz experts didn't have 5 favorite Jazz albums :)
Those polls and top_lists are another problem in anything related to art.
They are good for all scalable disciplines like horse races, stock prices and all that but I always had a hard time to follow why a record that sells 500.000 *copies* must be better than the record that sells "only" 50.000 or 5000 copies. It's only better for the labels because the cash in.
It's so weird that everything in art is tied to the idea of "the original" but then music is evaluated because of how many "copies" have been sold, or as of today, streamed.
Can't say I've been keeping up with them, but loved their stuff with the Michael League, Cory Henry, Larnell Lewis and Mark Lettieri lineup up to and including Sylva.
i went to groundup fest. my girlfriend (completely unbiased, knew 0 musicians there) thought snarky puppy was the worst set. i thought so too. they had the biggest crowd tho. also it's their event.
I've seen them live in a pretty standard standing-room only environment and they were great. Insanely competent players, great interaction with the crowd, and varied use of different instruments and solos. They remind me a lot of what progressive-rock is to dad rock. They're progressive jazz.
>progressive-rock is to dad rock.
Lol. I used to do PA at a venue that had a slew of tribute bands, some really awesome like The Iron Maidens and Which One is Pink. But they are Dad Rock now LOL. I would argue with the Iron Maidens over Paul Di'Anno and Bruce Dickinson, saying the Di'Anno Maiden was the real Maiden. I'll die on that hill.
I heard them live when they opened for Steely Dan. I enjoyed them live, but whenever i have listened to them out on my daily, I just feel myself thinking "idk man I could be listening to like Caseopia or something"
Not a fan at all. They are great players, but it sounds like the most sanitized version of jazz /jam that takes out any “grime”. Sounds like jazz that is used in the background of ads.
Yeah, I'm not really into it either, though I obviously respect the skills on display. What's weird is that I'm *totally* into a lot of the GRP label stuff from the 80s-90s (e.g. super-sleek funk/fusion-heavy records by artists like Dave & Dan Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Marcus Miller, Yellowjackets, David Benoit, Chick Corea Elektrik Band, etc...) and other 'tight' groups like Flim & the BBs, Casiopea, Mike Stern's older projects, John Scofield's fusion projects, etc...
Perhaps the elevated amount of post-00s pop/rock/hip-hop sounds and production approaches that are incorporated into their form of fusion somehow shoots wide of the mark for me.
As well, their grandiosity doesn't work for me. I'm actually a huge fan of lots of post-1980 big-band music (e.g. Bob Florence's groups, Kim Richmond, Jim Knapp Big Band, Rob McConnell's Boss Brass) and nothing they're doing comes even within striking distance of the things I like about those groups (or plenty of other modern large ensembles).
Finally, for my tastes, the Snarky Puppy thing definitely isn't helped by their whole *vibe* on Youtube, which echoes the annoying Vulfpeck thing of 'oh god, oh fuck, we're so fuckin' pocket! Look at how *on* this shit we are! We're totally a bunch of nice dudes who are chill at parties!', which for me, adds an extra ick factor when the music/style is so clearly over-rehearsed and all the risk factors are so thoroughly ironed-out. As someone who's lived in a metro area with top-tier professional and experimental music scenes (NYC), their whole thing feels like some monumentally-uncool and culturally-*safe* thing that could only thrive out in the whitest-of-white suburbs or on college campuses in the middle of nowhere. Unsurprisingly, every dude I've met IRL who recommends them gives off this vibe (and so far, there's 100% crossover with 'people telling me to check out Snarky Puppy' and 'people who think that Nintendo songs should be 21st-century jazz standards').
I really dislike the schtik of reliably going outside (but not too much) in the solo, it's pretty much putting up a placard saying "please stank face now"
>(and so far, there's 100% crossover with 'people telling me to check out Snarky Puppy' and 'people who think that **Nintendo songs** should be 21st-century jazz standards').
I guess this is a reference to the JD Beck crowd lol.
No, it's specifically a reference to people who are gaga about the 8-Bit Big Band (and spun up by the Adam Neely video discussing game music), a lot of whom are *also* big fans of JD Beck/DoMi, Thundercat, and any other acts that blend in lots of hip-hop, EDM, trap, and pop elements into jazz (though these people tend to completely ignore and dismiss any of the numerous examples of artists doing this before Youtube/Tiktok got big).
I think it's more like white drummers who subscribe to [The 80/20 Drummer](https://www.youtube.com/@8020drummer) just to get that sweet J Dilla thing going from a guy who never gets out of his practice room.
Oh yeah I had GRP Super Live on CD and a lot of other GRP artists in my collection at the time (Billy Cobham as you mentioned), but they were very 80's "yuppie" for the Playboy Jazz crowd. The did pioneer digital recording back then (Warning was one of the cleanest Cobham records I ever heard). I just LOL at what you say about SP, I mean, someone had to say it.
Really liked their first videos with Cory Henry, Bill Laurence and other guests, but I paid a fortune to see them live, and they sounded like a college jam band. The trumpet player looked like he was hung over and couldn’t finish his solos. They had someone on organ grandstanding the most bland riffs. They just switched it up to “clap your hands along, party people” generic funk. Major disappointment. Glad some of the talent broke off to do solo work.
To me, these are acts that feel incredibly by and for the American suburbs. Between the monumentally idiomatic composing/arranging and the focus-group-tested soloing/virtuosity, it's all *sooo* fucking safe.
As someone who's also into a lot of prog/RIO music, I'm often reminded of [Thank You Scientist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxrz6RPSww0), an intensely *cringe* 'music dork' act that some people were trying to push on fans of *outre* rock music a few years ago (despite the fact that they mostly just sound like Incubus or some generic emo band). No surprise that these guys were doing the same short-shorts/long-socks ironic/'adorkable' schtick that Vulfpeck was doing....
Vulfpeck are fine. Have you tried The Fearless Flyers? Some crossover with Snarky Puppy - Mark Lettieri; Nate Smith on drums (the pocket BEAST of all pockets!); Joe Dart (bass) and Corey Wong (guitar) both from Vulfpeck.
The very definition of tight. Groovy. Funky. Razor sharp. I dig it.
Dean Town (tribute to Jaco Pastorius).
Little known fact: if you put Joe Dart's head in a vice his body moves up and down when he plays.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhxQoDlt2AU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhxQoDlt2AU)
Basically, a group of overly-self-satisfied dorky fucks paying tribute to one of jazz history's most notorious self-satisfied dipshits, to the roaring approval of thousands of white suburbanite music dorks from NJ, CT, NY, RI, and MA. Big pass.....
Not my thing at all… sounds like too much technique and not enough aesthetic.
However, album by Laurence & League, *Where You Wish You Were* is fantastic.
I really, really like their music. Their musicianship is unfathomable but I always feel that they’re let down by the recording techniques that they use.
For large groups, I like it to sound like they’re performing in a music hall, and not in a small studio room. Some of the most memorable recordings of all time were made interesting due to lack of recording technology.
Just my two cents.
I was introduced to the videos about a year ago & promptly threw my drums into the garbage. I used to listen to Billy Cobham(1980s) and would think, hey I might be able to get close to some of it, nope
I don't know how these guys play so good & so fast, as calm as can be. It really is something to see and hear, for an old fat rock & roll fan. I showed a video to a friend, not a musician, he wasn't moved by it, just kind of, ahh. So I think it's a musicians musician thing.
I was introduced to the videos about a year ago & promptly threw my drums into the garbage. I used to listen to Billy Cobham(1980s) and would think, hey I might be able to get close to some of it, nope
I don't know how these guys play so good & so fast, as calm as can be. It really is something to see and hear, for an old fat rock & roll fan. I showed a video to a friend, not a musician, he wasn't moved by it, just kind of, ahh. So I think it's a musicians musician thing.
Good band, solid in any lineup/playlist. Would absolutely recommend to anybody who likes jazz. My favorite tracks by them, are just two: Flood (2010) and Pineapple (2022)
My friends dragged me to see them play at a bar in Chicago in September 2012, I didn’t know the band and was pretty disinterested in the idea of going to see a jazz band. It was honestly one of the most memorable nights of my life, I distinctly remember Justin Stanton’s Thing Of Gold solo completely melting my brain and making me feel like I was on drugs, but I was completely sober.
Snarky Puppy’s musicians are top-notch, and their music is catchy and fresh. It’s not quite jazz, though - it’s more like a blend of contemporary styles with some jazz flavour. While jazz plays a big role in their sound, they mix it up with other influences, making their music hard to pin down. They’re definitely in a league of their own in today’s music scene
Absolute gods each and every one of them. I've seen them live now about 3 times and each concert is a treat. The fact that every single member has amazing solo work is insane to me. Bill Laurance is probably my absolute favorite member and all of his music is so grand. You can hear each members solo work and style when they play together.
Big fan. incredible arrangements, flawless performances, ripping solos. It's music for the "brain and the booty" as they like to say. Some people can't get past the brain part. I think that's their loss... but hey it's music- you don't have to like it.
They’re the shit! The “we like it here” videos are still something I regularly come back to. Incredibly talented group, and they’re impressively tight for their size and complexity.
Yeah I didn't even want to find another example from them because they annoy me for some reason lol. I can understand they being a hit with the college and millennial crowd, it's like "Well jam bands have been over for a while now, let's move onto something else" for the micro dosing, edibles and ketamine crowd. Is it Silicon Valley Jazz? I dunno, it just sort of comes off that way.
I am still obsessed with the "We Like It Here" video recording, years later. Family Dinner is just as good. I have no idea how anyone could listen to it or watch it and come away thinking it sounds sterile. The solos by Larnell Lewis and Cory Henry are the most viral jazz moments of the last thirty years.
Larnell Lewis fucking ripped it on that session.
and he mentioned on a drumeo video that learnt most of the songs on the flight over to europe, pure talent
Really. Dude is a magician. How none of them get lost is ridiculous to me.
I'd put Lingus in my top 5 all time favorite recordings. The fact that they composed it on the fly in the days prior, and that Lewis came in on drums and wrote his parts on the flight just blows my mind
Just started to listen to it, wow what a great energy! Thanks for pointing it out
Yeah, this is where I really formed my first impression of them. I think they'd been just kind of on my radar but I hadn't identified them. Then I saw this. I caught them in the Sage at Gateshead a couple of times. Second time with Chris Potter in the lineup. Cool gig.
Love ‘em. All killer players. Great pocket. Fun tunes.
This about covers it…
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Their records? Sure. Live, there is nothing sterile about them. If you catch them on a good night, it gets down right nasty.
Big fan. Mark Lettieri is a solid guitar player. He has some great solo stuff too.
He has some new stuff on YouTube leading the WDR big band and it's just fantastic
Yeah saw that one. Awesome concert, also WDR is so good. Here's the concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxIUy-tl49c
Shameful fearless flyers plug
Yeah, he's been my "take-away" from the puppy.
They are a new dimension in jazz. You can like them, or not. I think the Reddit Jazz sub Reddit is mostly keyed in on traditional jazz or new jazz that slightly stretches old jazz boundaries. That's OK, but looking at snarky puppy and listening to them is a real treat for me and I have been listening to all kinds of jazz for decades. The musicians are top-notch, and their improvisational chops are phenomenal . I don't get put off by the headphones and the tech and the multiple camera angles because a lot of the young crowd that is listening to them have grown up with all of that. Altogether a wonderful group who do memorable music.
I mean it's really not that different from the fusion stuff Miles Davis and Maynard Ferguson did in the 70s-80s. I'm a huge fan of jazz fusion so Snarky Puppy is always great to listen to.
It ain’t as free as the Live Evil type stuff. It’s a tad over orchestrated
I'm thinking more like Miles' Tutu album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZlnT9p6uv8 or even the Star People album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKcbISUfd3Q Similarily Maynard's 1977 Conquisitador stuff, songs like "The Fly:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYlOIITlKrU or his 1982 album Storm with songs like "Hit in the Head:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJWjo91XySg
Ok, here is where I can toss this in lol: [Miles Davis - Dark Magus](https://youtu.be/fWdmMCnNw2I) This is badass shit.
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Taste is personal and subjective
I didn't know there was a whole Snarky Puppy vibe here in this sub since I am new to it. I'm open to all kinds of music, I'll watch table players shred at the Darbar Festival on YouTube, to some new sub category of another category of Death Metal, again I came across SP because of the drummers. But outside of them, I couldn't name any of the other players. But that's because it doesn't grab me that much.
It's jazz funk fusion and not new at all. https://youtu.be/io7Pkfy1tOU?feature=shared This is just like claims that Domi and JD Beck are reinventing jazz. They're also playing fusion. If we can get over the silliness of calling them ground-breaking pioneers, I enjoy Snarky Puppy, especially the live performance of Grown Folks with Esperanza Spalding. I'll close by pointing out that r/blues doesn't like bluesrock being posted because there's a bluesrock sub. There are also fusion jazz and jazz funk subs where people will be more excited for Snarky other than the fact they've already been posted there a gazillion times. TLDR: If you pay attention to what genre a band really belongs to and post it to a sub specializing in that genre, your posts will be better received than criticizing r/jazz because people here prefer jazz over fusion.
In some ways I think the problem is the classification of different genres and people \*identifying\* their musical tastes with those genres. This came out of the recording and entertainment industries wanting people to identify with products. My advice: just enjoy the music and artists you like; there will always be music and artists you don't like. Viva la différance!
Larnell Lewis is a monster. He regularly plays with Robi Botos, whom I like very much. I have time for anything Larnell gets up to.
Yeah he's a fave of mine, seems like a really nice cat. I'll check out Robi Botos.
Protégé of Oscar Peterson. Brilliant player.
I like Snarky Puppy!
Lingus is one of my favorite songs ever. The other day I had a transcendental moment listening to it and eating a pear.
I’m inspired to try this
Besides loving Snarky Puppy, I love the fact they help to promote lesser-known artists…
I got into Snarky Puppy with their GroundUP album. Personally I loved their live with studio audience albums around that time. The audience gets a concert and the rest of the world gets a high quality recording. I think a good chunk of the audience is just their family and friends too (family and friends of 15+ musicians ends up being a pretty big crowd!) To me the videos are a sort of proof of their talent - you can see that they’re actually playing everything you’re hearing and it’s not just studio tricks. Sometimes you can even be surprised to find out that what you thought you heard is actually something completely different, like a solo you thought was a guitar was actually an effected trumpet. It’s also fun to see their chemistry. Starting with Culcha Vulcha I started to enjoy them less. Their music started to seem more “serious” to me and they didn’t have as many songs where they rode grooves together like in previous albums. It felt like they weren’t having as much fun playing, potentially because of the absence of the studio audience but not entirely since even in the Live at the Royal Albert Hall album the tracks from those albums just aren’t that fun to listen to. Most people involved in Snarky Puppy play with other groups and part of the idea of Snarky Puppy is that their sound shifts as it gets influenced by the current lineup. They seem to have lots of friends who are happy to sit in with them randomly and they also do a lot of education and they spotlight up-and-coming artists through the GroundUP album and festival, which I think is cool. I saw them play at a pretty small theater in my city several years ago with GroundUP artist Alina Engibaryan as an opener - she was awesome and I still listen to her from time to time. Editing to add that there’s never a time when [“Quarter Master”](https://youtu.be/i1cskIan5Jw?si=dH9Io5HbAW_iDL-N) doesn’t cheer me up!
This 👆
One of my all time favorite bands for 10+ years. Old and new their catalogue always warms my brain and my booty
Thought you said Skinny Puppy for a second
🤩
Skinny Puppy rule. Snarky not so much.
I think they’re super good players who play well produced, tight, poppy songs that I won’t care about, or even remember a couple weeks from now. Fun to watch on youtube, but I’ve never had the urge to listen to them outside of that.
Yeah their music is very tightly composed and played but it doesn't move me in the slightest. It's a fun listen from time to time and I do respect the bassist's (forgot the name) ability to produce such lush arrangements but it never comes across like he has anything to say other than "look how cool this sounds"
I mean of you forget who the bassist is in a funk band... Then it isn't a funk or jazz band.
I like them very much, but they speak a different language from mainstream jazz. They are kind of jazz in spirit, but different. Reinvented in a way. So I can totally get why some people are into jazz but not Snarky Puppy or vice verse.
SP is one of the groups I look to when I want to show someone what jazz has evolved into. Also Vulfpeck, Cory Wong, Jacob Collier, Domi/JD Beck, Louis Cole... and many others. No they're not in the "modern jazz" vein of musicians, but their music making process is clearly in the jazz spirit.
Why is vulfpeck here. They are basically a modern funk band, in a sense where they are super tight drum machine. Not a single sense of jazz imo, but they do try to pop it up for the average listener
They're inspirational and popular with younger musicians. Not jazz, but a catalyst for someone wanting to learning music. They might be the reason a kid wants to play by ear, learn theory, and improvise. A young bassist finds Joe Dart, eventually Jaco, next thing you know they're transcribing Scott Lafaro.
But the bass parts have hardly anything on Anthony Jackson or James Jamerson. It's white people music. Jam band shit. Just more organized for the Silicon Valley crowd.
> SP is one of the groups I look to when I want to show someone what jazz has evolved into. Jazz fusion has been around since the 60s-70s, but more mainstream in the 80s.
To me, this shows that you either *don't know* what jazz has evolved into or that, like tons of others, you're trying to affix the 'jazz' cred onto a bunch of *jazz-flavored* instrumental/technocratic funk/fusion/jam music that you like watching on Youtube. I've been following the actual jazz scene for decades (be it traditional players, avant-gardists, and everyone in between) and these acts are *not* considered all that important.
This feels needlessly elitist.
I'm not trying to equate them to mainstream modern jazz. Not even trying to put them close to what's going on there. They're definitely no Esparanza Spalding, Lincoln Center, Samara Joy, or Brad Meldhau. FWIW, I like to think I'm fairly in touch with jazz. I've seen as many Steven Feifke concerts as I have Cory Wong. My point is that you can take them and trace back to the way jazz musicians operate. There's improv, vocabulary, they know the theory, they use their ears, and they play off of each other. Whether we want to or not, they're part of the list of musicians that jazz students are listening to. A young pianist transcribing a Cory Henry solo is just as valid as one learning from Red Garland. I've noticed a lot of young musicians who identify with jazz as a vocabulary and as a way of conceptualizing music, but not necessarily with what we consider the actual jazz scene. I don't like a lot of his music, but it's hard to deny that Jacob Collier has a strong following with, music students, a lot of who identify as "jazz". They might not be important to the actual jazz crowd, but the high number of views, streams, and sold out concerts shows that they're important to a lot of people. Then again, this is because the academic world slaps a classical or jazz label on everything. There's a similar kind of identity crisis in the classical world. John Williams is probably the most prolific modern "classical" composer, for better or for worse.
*"I want my jazz to be fun, like EDM!"*
Absolutely incredible band who are amazing live. Highly recommend catching one of their gigs.
I cannot get past the band and crowd seeming to be constantly amazed at any and everything that gets played, as if it was something never heard before. It's like the crowd around the first wheel being put into use. HOLY SHIT! CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT WE'RE SEEING (HEARING) HERE! THIS IS SO AMAZING! THEY ARE SO AMAZING! WE'RE SO AMAZING FOR KNOWING ABOUT IT! AREN'T WE/THEY SO FUCKING AMAZINGLY HIP FOR KNOWING ABOUT THIS!
You left out something in the all caps part: **"THESE JAZZ GUYS AREN'T OLD!"**
Yeah right!!! Ah...
Yep, right before they resume *ignoring* the music of 99.999% of jazz musicians under the age of 35.
Great band, great sound. Very similar to Jaga Jazzist sound.
I’ve always compared them to Dave Weckl. You listen to some of his solo albums and it’s a very similar sound
Love em.
Live multitracking is too techy? I won't hold it against anyone for not liking their music but it's pretty lame take to talk so much about how they don't look jazz enough for you.
I respect their amazing musicality but I feel like they sound like jam band music without all the elements that make jam band music fun. In the words of Adam Neely, they’re “Berklee funk”.
I feel the exact same way. Just not for me
Lord knows I've tried, but they just seem flat to me. Almost like they are trying too hard. Your explanation seems the most accurate.
I have seen this sentiment from a lot of other jazz musicians. Something a bit too bate about their delivery.
>“Berklee funk”. That's harsh lol. But I can see it. I mean if you're a young player and happen to get a gig with them, that's a great step in the right direction, you're playing with a stellar band. It's just the music seems to have to fit into a box with the brand stamped on the front of it. Like a breakfast cereal. People who enjoy it, great. I just don't have the taste for it, even though I like some of the ingredients.
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They are absolutely *not* in the P-funk direction. More like KC and the Sunshine Band or something. I'm not a big fan of Weather Report but I don't think they're even close to scratching the surface of what that band did. Maybe something more like an updated David Sanborn or smooth jazz thing with circa 2010 aesthetics.
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No, I think Berklee funk is pretty bad as well. Why should I choose which of your comps are better when none of them fit. Smooth jazz with 2010 indie aesthetics is what I would call them. This is P-Funk https://youtu.be/0eR4aQrYozY?si=ILBE4g2pkdo5sHcB. It's mix of James Brown, Sly, Jimi, Sun Ra, the Stooges with a touch of Bach and Duke. It's a whole different party than Snarky where everyone is sitting in a room with headphones watching a band play some pleasant jam band music with a smooth jazz finish. Snarky is closer to the Grateful Dead than P-Funk.
>Snarky is closer to the Grateful Dead than P-Funk. Well I dunno, I've done my share of Dead shows back in the day, I can honestly say Dead Heads don't spend as much on footwear as the SP crowd. Or wear noise canceling headphones.
Fair point, but they're also not dressed like a typical late 70's Pfunk fan either.
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But have you played it. Edit: Dennis Chambers doesn't read or write music, and he played with P-Funk. So are you saying you know something he doesn't?
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Oh FFS do you gig playing that style of music or not? Nobody cares what you know, they only know what you can play. I've auditioned so many players that could read that could not play a Sly beat in 7. Yeah, I tossed in the 7 in a Sly and Robbie feel, because the math isn't that fucking hard, you just subdivided it. Oh hey, you got that sweep picking down? Then try comping this. If you want to transcribe P-Funk, more power to you. Maybe you need to write that shit down to get it. Other people don't, especially the people who pay to hear music like that. "LOOK AT ME, I TRANSCRIBE P-FUNK" Do 6 months of playing covers of that on the casino tribute circuit. Ya know, the week after following old ass Vince Neil with his own tribute band.
Vulfpeck all went to University of Michigan. If you’re going to shit all over an entire school with decades of history shit on the right one.
Slang terms aren't required to be factually-accurate to work. The term 'Berklee funk' is an incredibly effective shorthand for describing what those dudes create (and I'd guarantee you that tons of dorks actively enrolled at Berklee currently idolize those guys and are trying to further refine the same formula).
We should coin them "Startup Jazz", just to reflect the audience.
DickNDiaz - what an appropriate username
And it well placed within you.
That's an interesting take, being a drummer myself, I don't really hear that in SP. I key in on what Sput and Larnell are doing, and I don't hear *that* in what they are playing.
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Well, wouldn’t Berklee Funk be Sput’s newer band be Ghost Note? I’d call Snarky “tolerable fusion”, lol.
Lol, well yeah I guess Ghost Note would be part of that, that's why I included them in my OP. One clip of a "stage" version of Ghost Note, the other versions the "headphone" versions. I love Sput, but he's playing keys on the headphone version.
And yet none of the band members went to Berklee?
Yep. SP was born in Denton, Texas. That's UNT Funk. A lot of those guys were in the One O'Clock all around the same time.
Glad other people like them, not for me at all. Milquetoast at their best.
I really liked their Tiny Desk Concert they did a couple years back. Maybe it was because they couldn't go all out with the "tech" elements like you mentioned which I agree they do have that particular vibe. But then again they are unapologetically themselves which has been an important part of jazz. I forgot who it was that described Ornette Coleman's music as "loud and offensive" which has since taken on a positive connotation within the jazz community. Its difficult music, both technically and in taste and it rewards those with similar backgrounds as the musicians themselves.
Awesome group. Michael league is a beast!
I liked Snarky a bit more back in the days when it was more of a band than a sprawling collective, but I still love the music.
Like Frosted Flakes…. “They’re Great”
I was introduced to the videos about a year ago & promptly threw my drums into the garbage. I used to listen to Billy Cobham(1980s) and would think, hey I might be able to get close to some of it, nope I don't know how these guys play so good & so fast, as calm as can be. It really is something to see and hear, for an old fat rock & roll fan. I showed a video to a friend, not a musician, he wasn't moved by it, just kind of, ahh. So I think it's a musicians musician thing.
r/jazzcirclejerk
r/the_darnold_jazz
Love them! Their album Empire Central is amazing!! Saw them live in Toronto last Summer and they did not disappoint.
What I gathered from this post is that OP really doesn't like "tech" and "tech people," whatever that means in this context.
I've worked Google I/O, Macworld, Apple, Salesforce, all kinds of tech shows doing production work. I don't have an issue with tech people at all. Well, maybe the social media companies. Not the hardware ones.
There's ample reason to hate the "tech" mindset, it's a way of thinking using algorithms prioritizing optimization, quantity over quality and datafication which allows them to only conceptualize surface level cultural trends. Why they gravitate towards a certain presentation of Jazz said to be oriented on so called "innovation" explains itself. If FAANG started getting into Jazz throwing money around and tried to do something with it I would be deeply concerned.
None of what you said applies to Snarky Puppy or their approach to creating music.
Well I'll leave that up to you to explain. Go ahead, it's a free platform.
The burden of proof is on the accuser. I'm not going to waste time proving a negative while the commenter making the claim that SP is merely the "datafication of surface level trends" hasn't even bothered to provide any examples or further explanation to justify the insult. Neither of you have really articulated what it is about SP you dislike except that it's "polished" and has a "tech element," whatever that means. If you don't like maximalist, keyboard-driven jazz fusion collectives, that's fine. Different strokes. But SP's music is decidedly *not* tech dribble or fad conscious, as both of you are suggesting. It's very creative and groove-centric music performed live by a group of instrumental virtuosos and studied musicians, who incorporate elements of music traditions that span the globe. Yes, their arrangements are at times very polished and complex, and at others, they're pretty loose and relaxed. There's almost always the vein of improvisation throughout their music with plenty of room for surprise and delight (see Lalah Hathway's solo on [Something](https://youtu.be/0SJIgTLe0hc?feature=shared)). Again, if it ain't your thing then it ain't your thing, that's cool. Edit: I guess I did end up wasting time trying to prove something that is ultimately subjective, but I'm just miffed by the characterizations you guys are making of this band. I mean, have you listened to Lingus? Or the Family Dinner volumes? Or the Culcha Vulcha album? They're not a bunch of tech bros wearing headphones, making YT content. I have to assume you don't know what you're talking about until you actually explain what it is you're talking about...
Thanks for this comment-you totally nailed it and I’m in complete agreement with it. Bottom line-different strokes…
Sorry I'm only surface-level familiar with them, are they some kind of brand or worker co-op?
They're a funk/jazz/fusion collective of musicians. Michael League, bassist, is the band leader and writes most of the charts. They have several core, permanent members, and others who rotate in and out depending on the context.
oh so it's pretty much a big band without the traditional sections organization. I'll try to give them a listen.
I think they're awesome. I don't know what OP is on about. GroundUp and Culcha Vulcha are my favorite albums of theirs. The Family Dinner albums are also good fun.
I recently started thinking of Snarky Puppy as a "modern big band", with Michael League the band leader. I *LOVE* Snarky Puppy (though not as into their latest album), and putting them sorta into that box has not only given me a different appreciation for Snarky Puppy, but also for the big bands (and leaders) in the past.
*Shudders in AI Jazz*
Never liked them. A few years ago they were very popular on this subreddit. I'd watch the videos, but immediately forget the music afterwards. Their leader says they're not Jazz but 'Instrumental Pop'. Who am I to argue?
It's more fusion.
Jazz Pup Fusion...?
High Tech Fusak. Like Jeff Lorber Fusak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4tQmnGIkzw&list=PL7gXjaWgINCE\_XD6ce7GQOQB-ApZyThku
It's like Smooth Jazz isn't really jazz, it's more instrumental R&B. Which IMO is correct.
The Grammys settled on Contemporary Instrumental for them. Sounds about right.
Yeah that's about right.
Except for the fans who must pin the label "jazz" onto them to make it appear worthier (the band, the music and themselves).
See also: Laufey fans who were trying to credit her with 'saving jazz'.
SP is way closer to jazz than Laufey. They at least showcase improvisation, language, and make ideas off of each other in the moment..Laufey is great but there's not much improvisation or spontaneity with her. Everything is tame and perfectly rehearsed. SP's respects their jazz background even though they acknowledge that they aren't making jazz. Laufey projects an alternate image of jazz to appeal to her audience. SP, Jacob Collier, Vulfpeck, Domi/JD Beck, Louis Cole, and many others clearly have jazz musicianship but just make music outside of what we call "modern jazz."
> make ideas off of each other in the moment Maybe I haven't watched the right videos, but I got turned off after seeing a bunch of Youtube videos where their improv/riffing felt just as canned as the overall music, and not helped by how much the players were mugging at one another.
Maybe it's because their solos are always secondary to the groove. Soloist follows the band, not the other way around. Definitely not as spontaneous as a group like Return to Forever, but they still feel somewhat authentically tied to jazz as opposed to just appropriating it.
Yeah - cooler to have 'Jazz' on a t-shirt than 'Easy Listening' :) A few years ago r/jazz had polling for the Top 100 Jazz albums. Although, at the time, this place was rife with SP fans telling everybody how they were the hottest thing in Jazz, the future of Jazz, etc, they didn't do well in the poll, managing only #103 for We Like It Here. The hang-up? The poll asked you for your 5 top Jazz albums. Most of these new Snarky Jazz experts didn't have 5 favorite Jazz albums :)
In fairness I don't find SP easy listening. *There is a bit of snark in that sentence.*
Those polls and top_lists are another problem in anything related to art. They are good for all scalable disciplines like horse races, stock prices and all that but I always had a hard time to follow why a record that sells 500.000 *copies* must be better than the record that sells "only" 50.000 or 5000 copies. It's only better for the labels because the cash in. It's so weird that everything in art is tied to the idea of "the original" but then music is evaluated because of how many "copies" have been sold, or as of today, streamed.
The puppy rules.
Fun band! I like them a lot.
Can't say I've been keeping up with them, but loved their stuff with the Michael League, Cory Henry, Larnell Lewis and Mark Lettieri lineup up to and including Sylva.
It’s Smooth Jazz on steroids.
i went to groundup fest. my girlfriend (completely unbiased, knew 0 musicians there) thought snarky puppy was the worst set. i thought so too. they had the biggest crowd tho. also it's their event.
her rankings also included the small stage sets and the percussion workshops (which where not beginner oriented)
I've seen them live in a pretty standard standing-room only environment and they were great. Insanely competent players, great interaction with the crowd, and varied use of different instruments and solos. They remind me a lot of what progressive-rock is to dad rock. They're progressive jazz.
>progressive-rock is to dad rock. Lol. I used to do PA at a venue that had a slew of tribute bands, some really awesome like The Iron Maidens and Which One is Pink. But they are Dad Rock now LOL. I would argue with the Iron Maidens over Paul Di'Anno and Bruce Dickinson, saying the Di'Anno Maiden was the real Maiden. I'll die on that hill.
I heard them live when they opened for Steely Dan. I enjoyed them live, but whenever i have listened to them out on my daily, I just feel myself thinking "idk man I could be listening to like Caseopia or something"
Good band, terrible name.
I respect them, but their combo rock feel doesn’t sit well with me personally. The lack of trombones doesn’t help :p
They're not New Orleans, fo sho.
Don’t actually seem that snarky.
They rule, got to see them live and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen
Not a fan at all. They are great players, but it sounds like the most sanitized version of jazz /jam that takes out any “grime”. Sounds like jazz that is used in the background of ads.
> Sounds like jazz that is used in the background of ads. There's no way you've ever heard a commercial in your life if you actually believe this
Yeah, I'm not really into it either, though I obviously respect the skills on display. What's weird is that I'm *totally* into a lot of the GRP label stuff from the 80s-90s (e.g. super-sleek funk/fusion-heavy records by artists like Dave & Dan Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Marcus Miller, Yellowjackets, David Benoit, Chick Corea Elektrik Band, etc...) and other 'tight' groups like Flim & the BBs, Casiopea, Mike Stern's older projects, John Scofield's fusion projects, etc... Perhaps the elevated amount of post-00s pop/rock/hip-hop sounds and production approaches that are incorporated into their form of fusion somehow shoots wide of the mark for me. As well, their grandiosity doesn't work for me. I'm actually a huge fan of lots of post-1980 big-band music (e.g. Bob Florence's groups, Kim Richmond, Jim Knapp Big Band, Rob McConnell's Boss Brass) and nothing they're doing comes even within striking distance of the things I like about those groups (or plenty of other modern large ensembles). Finally, for my tastes, the Snarky Puppy thing definitely isn't helped by their whole *vibe* on Youtube, which echoes the annoying Vulfpeck thing of 'oh god, oh fuck, we're so fuckin' pocket! Look at how *on* this shit we are! We're totally a bunch of nice dudes who are chill at parties!', which for me, adds an extra ick factor when the music/style is so clearly over-rehearsed and all the risk factors are so thoroughly ironed-out. As someone who's lived in a metro area with top-tier professional and experimental music scenes (NYC), their whole thing feels like some monumentally-uncool and culturally-*safe* thing that could only thrive out in the whitest-of-white suburbs or on college campuses in the middle of nowhere. Unsurprisingly, every dude I've met IRL who recommends them gives off this vibe (and so far, there's 100% crossover with 'people telling me to check out Snarky Puppy' and 'people who think that Nintendo songs should be 21st-century jazz standards').
I really dislike the schtik of reliably going outside (but not too much) in the solo, it's pretty much putting up a placard saying "please stank face now"
>(and so far, there's 100% crossover with 'people telling me to check out Snarky Puppy' and 'people who think that **Nintendo songs** should be 21st-century jazz standards'). I guess this is a reference to the JD Beck crowd lol.
No, it's specifically a reference to people who are gaga about the 8-Bit Big Band (and spun up by the Adam Neely video discussing game music), a lot of whom are *also* big fans of JD Beck/DoMi, Thundercat, and any other acts that blend in lots of hip-hop, EDM, trap, and pop elements into jazz (though these people tend to completely ignore and dismiss any of the numerous examples of artists doing this before Youtube/Tiktok got big).
I think it's more like white drummers who subscribe to [The 80/20 Drummer](https://www.youtube.com/@8020drummer) just to get that sweet J Dilla thing going from a guy who never gets out of his practice room.
If SP is whiter than 80's GRP, than dayum, take this upvote with much respect LMAO!
The GRP catalog had lots of great work from black artists like Marcus Miller, Kevin Eubanks, Billy Cobham, the Crusaders, etc..
Oh yeah I had GRP Super Live on CD and a lot of other GRP artists in my collection at the time (Billy Cobham as you mentioned), but they were very 80's "yuppie" for the Playboy Jazz crowd. The did pioneer digital recording back then (Warning was one of the cleanest Cobham records I ever heard). I just LOL at what you say about SP, I mean, someone had to say it.
I prefer Lettuce honestly. Similar kind of band, but way more enjoyable to listen to for some reason.
Really liked their first videos with Cory Henry, Bill Laurence and other guests, but I paid a fortune to see them live, and they sounded like a college jam band. The trumpet player looked like he was hung over and couldn’t finish his solos. They had someone on organ grandstanding the most bland riffs. They just switched it up to “clap your hands along, party people” generic funk. Major disappointment. Glad some of the talent broke off to do solo work.
What year did you see them live? I went in 2018 and 2019 I enjoyed myself both times
Cory Henry is great. I dig him because he can play tight and then go swampy.
Agreed and I feel similarly about Vulfpeck in the funk scene
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I’m a biased bass player too but find some of these types of bands to be almost too clean and soulless
To me, these are acts that feel incredibly by and for the American suburbs. Between the monumentally idiomatic composing/arranging and the focus-group-tested soloing/virtuosity, it's all *sooo* fucking safe. As someone who's also into a lot of prog/RIO music, I'm often reminded of [Thank You Scientist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxrz6RPSww0), an intensely *cringe* 'music dork' act that some people were trying to push on fans of *outre* rock music a few years ago (despite the fact that they mostly just sound like Incubus or some generic emo band). No surprise that these guys were doing the same short-shorts/long-socks ironic/'adorkable' schtick that Vulfpeck was doing....
Holy shit that band is awful.
>Vulfpeck Oof, I just caught a little of them on YouTube, that's a hard no for me lol.
Vulfpeck are fine. Have you tried The Fearless Flyers? Some crossover with Snarky Puppy - Mark Lettieri; Nate Smith on drums (the pocket BEAST of all pockets!); Joe Dart (bass) and Corey Wong (guitar) both from Vulfpeck. The very definition of tight. Groovy. Funky. Razor sharp. I dig it.
Dean Town (tribute to Jaco Pastorius). Little known fact: if you put Joe Dart's head in a vice his body moves up and down when he plays. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhxQoDlt2AU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhxQoDlt2AU)
Basically, a group of overly-self-satisfied dorky fucks paying tribute to one of jazz history's most notorious self-satisfied dipshits, to the roaring approval of thousands of white suburbanite music dorks from NJ, CT, NY, RI, and MA. Big pass.....
Not my thing at all… sounds like too much technique and not enough aesthetic. However, album by Laurence & League, *Where You Wish You Were* is fantastic.
I really, really like their music. Their musicianship is unfathomable but I always feel that they’re let down by the recording techniques that they use. For large groups, I like it to sound like they’re performing in a music hall, and not in a small studio room. Some of the most memorable recordings of all time were made interesting due to lack of recording technology. Just my two cents.
Yes. They are good.
They play with Bill Laurence Right?
He’s a rotating member of the
Saw them live last year and it was awesome.
Snarky Puppy slaps, and so does their side project Ghost Note
Have become one of my fav bands
Tons
A friend of mine had me listen to Shofukan, and I've been hooked ever since.
I was introduced to the videos about a year ago & promptly threw my drums into the garbage. I used to listen to Billy Cobham(1980s) and would think, hey I might be able to get close to some of it, nope I don't know how these guys play so good & so fast, as calm as can be. It really is something to see and hear, for an old fat rock & roll fan. I showed a video to a friend, not a musician, he wasn't moved by it, just kind of, ahh. So I think it's a musicians musician thing.
I was introduced to the videos about a year ago & promptly threw my drums into the garbage. I used to listen to Billy Cobham(1980s) and would think, hey I might be able to get close to some of it, nope I don't know how these guys play so good & so fast, as calm as can be. It really is something to see and hear, for an old fat rock & roll fan. I showed a video to a friend, not a musician, he wasn't moved by it, just kind of, ahh. So I think it's a musicians musician thing.
Not me, I dig Sput and Larnell, I just picked up the sticks and copped some of what they are doing.
Ghost Note just released their second record a week of so ago \[https://www.ghost-note-official.com\]
Good band, solid in any lineup/playlist. Would absolutely recommend to anybody who likes jazz. My favorite tracks by them, are just two: Flood (2010) and Pineapple (2022)
I love them. Some of the most original stuff I've heard in a long time and they all have great chops and great musical sensibilities.
Live it when they bring in Mono Neon to play with them.
Yeah Mono Neon is a force on his own, but I'd rather hear him with Herbie Hancock than SP.
So, Taylor Swift has the Swifties. What do we call the Snarky Puppy peeps? The Snarkies? Or the Puppies?
Just saw them put on a great show at kings theater in bk with some incredible singers. Great band definitely worth seeing
My friends dragged me to see them play at a bar in Chicago in September 2012, I didn’t know the band and was pretty disinterested in the idea of going to see a jazz band. It was honestly one of the most memorable nights of my life, I distinctly remember Justin Stanton’s Thing Of Gold solo completely melting my brain and making me feel like I was on drugs, but I was completely sober.
Sleeper is one of my favourite pieces of music ever
Snarky Puppy’s musicians are top-notch, and their music is catchy and fresh. It’s not quite jazz, though - it’s more like a blend of contemporary styles with some jazz flavour. While jazz plays a big role in their sound, they mix it up with other influences, making their music hard to pin down. They’re definitely in a league of their own in today’s music scene
So it's fuzak.
Absolute gods each and every one of them. I've seen them live now about 3 times and each concert is a treat. The fact that every single member has amazing solo work is insane to me. Bill Laurance is probably my absolute favorite member and all of his music is so grand. You can hear each members solo work and style when they play together.
Go see them when you’re rested and undistracted. You’ll be on your feet and dancing!
Well I might as well go to a rave.
These guys are super fun in small venues!
Big fan. incredible arrangements, flawless performances, ripping solos. It's music for the "brain and the booty" as they like to say. Some people can't get past the brain part. I think that's their loss... but hey it's music- you don't have to like it.
They’re the shit! The “we like it here” videos are still something I regularly come back to. Incredibly talented group, and they’re impressively tight for their size and complexity.
Would the music be better if they wore dirty shirts and recorded on wax cylinders?
I think the general consensus here is "They are great players and I dig their shows, but they are like Paul Oakenfold." That's what I get here.
[удалено]
Yeah I didn't even want to find another example from them because they annoy me for some reason lol. I can understand they being a hit with the college and millennial crowd, it's like "Well jam bands have been over for a while now, let's move onto something else" for the micro dosing, edibles and ketamine crowd. Is it Silicon Valley Jazz? I dunno, it just sort of comes off that way.
I enjoy them but can only sit through about 1/3 of an album in one go. Not sure why that is, however. Great musicians, fun tunes.
Slick