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The annual GroundUP Music Festival in Miami Beach coming up February 2-4 is the preeminent event in the realm of world-class funk, jazz, fusion and world music. This year’s event is shaping up to be the most spectacular of all. I can say that having attended all prior events going back to 2017, considering the totality of the regular festival programming, the late night sets and the brunches just announced this past week. Each year, Michael League, Snarky Puppy’s leader, bassist and festival artistic director and Paul Lehr, head of GroundUP Music put together a lineup that has many unfamiliarContinue Reading

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In: BLOG POSTS, The Motet

It’s time to close the book on 2023 with my annual Best Albums coverage of a whopping 27 recordings. The list includes many from my Track-by-Track reviews and several on top of that from which the FunkCity.net album of the year will be selected. The selections are not in any special order so dig in anywhere you’d like. Links to  each album on YouTube are included in the writeup and links to my full album reviews are included where available (and will be updated as time permits). These albums were my most listened to and include selections in jazz, funk,Continue Reading

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In: BANDS, BLOG POSTS, FESTIVALS

Suwannee Hulaween is just a few weeks away from its 10th-year anniversary edition and it will be my eighth consecutive year. There’s a super buzz about the even particlarly since the organizers added a second night of Pretty Lights headlining to replace Rainbow Kitten Surprise. It will also undoubtedly serve as a tribute the the recently departed James Casey, an extraodinary sax player  and touring member of the Trey Anastasio Band. I expect TAB and Jennifer Hartswick Band to pay respects to James, and he’ll be missed. Also, the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak was hit byContinue Reading

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On Becoming from House of Waters is a stunning album all around — an exquisite listening journey that takes you to places you’ve not previously imagined.  Max ZT (hammered dulcimer) and Moto Fukushima (6-string bass) are joined by Antonio Sanchez on drums, and they weave a tapestry of feelings that will soothe your soul. It’s incredible to have a trio create such a richness in sound. Max can make his instrument sound like a harp or piano among other instruments and naturally as a dulcimer. Moto’s two-handed playing on the bass gives him astonishing range as well. And Antonio, newContinue Reading

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Bokanté encapsulates world rhythms like no other band. The band is the brainchild of Snarky Puppy’s Michael League and a vehicle for the marvelous vocals of Malika Tirolien, along with a roster of some of the most uniquely accomplished musicians around. Bokanté’s albums are always a treat. The songs are always percussion rich due to the amazing crew of Weedie Braimah, Keita Ogawa, Jamey Haddad and André Ferrari with a huge battery of instruments and sounds. They are offset by the amazing string instrument team of Michael League, Chris McQueen, Bob Lanzetti and Roosevelt “The Dr.” Collier. Malika is anContinue Reading

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Back when EMPIRE CENTRAL was released, I wrote a full review and declared that “this album will be nominated for and win Grammy (or two).” In fact, it has now made it to the second round as “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album” nomination and has also been released in Dolby Atmos format on all streaming platforms. The full review covers track-by-track and each tells its own story. Here, I took on the impossible task of highlighting some of the highlight moments and solos from some of the songs. It’s absolutely an album that should be in your rotation. I’d love toContinue Reading

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Snarky Puppy’s EMPIRE CENTRAL is one of the most anticipated, absolutely amazing album to be produced in my lifetime!  I was fortunate to be at the recording sessions (see link) and that was a life-changing experience! Now, just six months later, the ensemble’s latest masterstroke is released. The two discs are total earcrack – you can’t get enough of it and listening leads to more listening. It’s a gumbo of styles with songs written by a dozen or so different people. The theme of the album was to be centered around Dallas, the area where group first formed. The titlesContinue Reading

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For the penultimate show of the Immigrance tour, Michael League and his band of merry men delivered a great concert at the Im Wizemann venue in Stuttgart, Germany.  This show sees a rare appearance of “Alma,” an unchained “Tio Macaco,” and some guitar wizardry on “What About Me.” Surprisingly, “Chonks,” “Bigly Strictness,” and “Bad Kids from the Back” are all absent from the set list…but nonetheless the show still rocks! A bonus video will be linked at the end of this review. Track-By-Track Chrysalis – Jason “JT” Thomas kicks off the proceedings with the funky, stuttering drum intro.  Then BobbyContinue Reading

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As if Snarky Puppy’s roster wasn’t stacked enough, they found two other musicians to join them for the show at Batschkapp.  Who were they? Some relatively up-and-coming musicians by the names of Chris Potter and Eric Harland….   PSYCH! Chris and Eric are undoubtedly two of jazz’s living legends.  Chris Potter is one of the greatest saxophonists to walk the face of the earth, and Eric Harland is a dynamic drummer who’s collaborated with McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, Charles Lloyd, Joshua Redman, Dave Holland, Julian Lage, Joe Henderson, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Zakir Hussain among others.  The entire two-hour performance is sensational,Continue Reading

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By November 22, 2019, Snarky Puppy had been touring in support of their album Immigrance for seven months.  Being the masterful bandleader that he is, Michael League reintroduced some older Snarky Puppy tracks into their live repertoire, including “Intelligent Design” which is featured in this show.  Over two thousand fans attended the concert at Salle Pleyel in Paris, and the energy in this recording is off the charts! The band is well-rehearsed, relaxed, and firing on all cylinders.  I struggled to find any flaws with this performance…and that’s really saying something.  It’s also the longest-running show in my Snarky PuppyContinue Reading