By:
On:
In: Aisle 5, BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy, Terminal West, The New Mastersounds, Variety Playhouse

Since there’s currently no funk category in the Grammys, it’s time to step up with the ‘Funkys’ – FunkCity’s annual awards for funk in and out of Atlanta. Funkiest Album – Snarky Puppy Culcha Vulcha Culcha Vulcha is a continuation in the evolution of Snarky Puppy and a killer album from end to end. Tarova, opens with a drum role and Big Ugly ends with a crescendo.  Not to mention the bonus track Jefe which doesn’t appear on the physical CD.  The pups meld multiple musical styles, as usual, ranging from South American melodies on Semente to down tempo grooves likeContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy

More than once I’ve been asked what kind of music Snarky Puppy plays?  A natural response would be jazz-funk-fusion but with recent albums We Like It Here, Family Dinner- Volume 2, Sylva and Culcha Vulcha, you’d have to add ‘world’ into the mix.  And why not classical since Sylva, which I consider a jazz symphony, was recorded with the 52-piece Metropole Orkest from the Netherlands.  Mostly instrumental, yes, but they’ve also cut two Family Dinner albums with vocals.  So ultimately, the band is the most unique, evolving, and growing band I’ve ever seen. Their unpredictability makes each album and eachContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy, Terminal West

This is the first in a multi-part blog about my favorite band, Snarky Puppy.  I was first encouraged to see the band by a young fan while attending a Lettuce rager at Terminal West (Atlanta). A quick check on the venue website revealed that the Pups were scheduled to hit the same venue three weeks later, which turned out to be my first show. Upon entering Terminal West for that first show, I noticed the crowd was noticeably urban and was buzzing.  I could literally feel the excitement and asked one fan why the group was apparently hip and relevantContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy

Mark Lettieri (guitar) and Shaun Martin (keys) are two long-time members of the world’s greatest funk-jazz-world band Snarky Puppy and they brought their individual and collective magic to Fountaine Lewis’ Jazz and Jokes Atlanta at Venkman’s in the Old Fourth Ward. Mark was featuring cuts from his 2016 release Spark and Echo and showed his versatility and dexterity — he can move stylistically from near-metal shredding to jamtronica to funk to jazz all with equal.  Check out this clip from early in his set – Mark Lettieri Live.   Spark and Echo is a fine 10 track set.  I particularly likeContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy

GroundUp Music Festival Three sets of Snarky Puppy and three days with some of the most talented musicians in the world on the beach in Miami Beach in February!.  What more encouragement do you need?Continue Reading

By:
On:
In: ALBUMS, BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy

Personally, I go on record predicting another Grammy for Snarky Puppy for this great, first studio (no live audience) disc from my favs in about 5 years. It’s been on rotation in my car’s CD changer for 6 months now and is my standard drive time disc.  My personal favorites are proably Big Ugly, Palermo (from my friend Marcelo Woloski), Semente, Tarova and The Simple Life.  Shit – that’s half the disc -and sometimes the other half hits me just as hard. Driving back from a show the other night (Earphunk), I had this on and I realized that contrary to theContinue Reading