Sylva (Impulse!)
Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest
Released April 16, 2015
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album 2016
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=FBWrH7vOsr4&list=OLAK5uy_kqqanEUXCcHesQlne6HJ5ZM2l0me-VDUo
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3YDZkr9mlzIMNId8YmQGHr?si=poDT26eUQVq3WilNKU4VEQ
About:
Jazz band of the moment Snarky Puppy show no signs of slowing down and on their latest release they join forces with Holland’s Metropole Orkest on a six track suite that was recorded live over two nights and presented with no studio alterations or post production polishing. The blend of a large orchestra with a heavy, funky jazz groove works so well and each track was written by band leader Michael League and inspired by different forests that he has spent time in. ‘The Curtain’ is almost a suite itself with multifarious elements joining together to traverse a broad sonic soundscape. ‘Flight’ has an almost cosmic vibe, while ‘Atachafalaya’ jams afro-funk up against Latin with a marching swagger that is relentless. Fans of Snarky Puppy and Bill Laurance will lap up yet another strong, powerhouse release from this formidable outfit.
Track Listing:
1. Sintra (Michael League) 03:32
2. Flight (Michael League) 06:02
3. Atchafalaya (Michael League) 06:04
4. The Curtain (Michael League) 15:09
5. Gretel (Michael League) 04:20
6. The Clearing (Michael League) 19:22
Personnel:
Michael League: electric bass (solo4), Moog keybass
Bob Lanzetti: electric guitar
Mark Lettieri: electric guitar (solo 6)
Chris McQueen: electric guitar (solo 3)
Bill Laurance: piano (solo 4), Wurlitzer, Moog
Cory Henry: organ (solo 2), clavinet, Moog (solo 4)
Justin Stanton: Fender Rhodes (solo 2), Moog, clavinet, piano, trumpet
Jay Jennings: trumpet, flugelhorn (solo 4)
Mike ‘Maz’ Maher: trumpet (solo 6), flugelhorn
Chris Bullock: tenor saxophone (solo 2), clarinet, bass clarinet
Nate Werth: percussion
Robert ‘Sput’ Searight: drums
& the Metropole Orkest
Conductor: Jules Buckley
1st violin: Arlia de Ruiter (concertmaster), Vera Laporeva, Denis Koenders, David Peijnenborgh, Pauline Terlouw, Casper Donker, Ruben Margarita, Tinka Regter, Seijia Teeuwen, Ewa Zbyszynska,
2nd violin: Merijn Rombout, Herman van Haaren, Wim Kok, Feyona van Iersel, Pauline Koning, Polina Cekov, Merel Jonker, Christina Knoll
Viola: Mieke Honingh, Norman Jansen, Julia Jowett, Isabella Petersen, Iris Schut, Lex Luijnenburg
Cello: Maarten Jansen, Emile Visser, Jascha Albracht, Annie Tongberg, Charles Watt
Doube Bass: Erik Winkelmann, Arend Liefkes, Tjerk de Vos
Fute: Janine Abbas, Mariel van den Bos, Nola Exel
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet and Saxophone: Paul van der Feen, Leo van Oostrom, Leo Janssen, Werner Janssen, Max Boeree
Horn: Pieter Hunfeld, Rob van de Laar, Fons Verspaandonk, Elizabeth Hunfeld
Trombone: Jan Oosting, Vincent Veneman (solo 3), Jan Bastiani
Bass Trombone: Martin van den Berg
Tuba: Ries Schellekens
Percussion: Murk Jiskoot, Fran Warndenier
Recorded live April 19 – 20, 2014, at Het Energiehuis, Dordrecht, Netherlands
Produced by Michael League
Arranged by Michael League and Jules Buckley, except “Gretel” arranged by Michael League, Jules Buckley, Chris McQueen and Ben Cotrell
Mixed by Eric Hartman
Mastered by Scott Hull
Review:
Snarky Puppy have been on my radar for some time with plenty of people sharing online videos and band room chatter. The word is they are amazing, but I had not heard anything of them until now.
For those not in the know, Snarky Puppy is a collective of musicians, fluid in it’s make up. The core musicians met at the University of Texas and have since made New York their base. They have made several albums already and are frequent live performers on street corners and in large venues. Additionally they take their musical gifts seriously and undertake many music workshops across the world. Led by bass player Michael League, the musicians in the collective are stellar performers in their own right with several Grammy award winners amongst its ranks.
Sylva is a live album taken from a performance done with the Metropole Orchestra. To say I was knocked out is an understatement. The music is a detailed orchestral suite that features the many different interests and styles of this behemoth.
The opening track, ‘Sintra’ starts the listener on a path of amazingly groovy music that treads the fine line of being commercially accessible to listeners new to jazz and having a substance and detail many musicians will be trying to understand and unravel for years to come. Each track is a journey that demonstrates their wide love of music in all it’s myriad forms.
When presented with a recording of this calibre, it lives with you for many days and just can’t put it out of your head. There are tantalising glimpses of many different kinds of music indulged in this recording. From the ghostly string quartet opening of ‘Sintra’ with its lush orchestral backdrop conjuring mysterious moods and the evocative jazz sax and trumpet melody giving a nod in the ECM European tradition through to the irresistible groove of ‘Flight’ and its effects laden saxophone solo channelling what Jaco Pastorius may have produced had he lived longer. Then the next track ‘Atchafalaya’ drops a trombone-shaped bomb with a delicious New Orleans groove that is so infectious that you just can’t stop moving to this music. A transition to a Scofield-esque guitar solo with and then a beautifully minimalist ending with the guitars. All this and only 15 minutes into the album!
This recording contains multitudes and satisfies everyone from R’n’B devotee to jazz aficionado. This record will remain long in my heart as perhaps one of the best jazz albums I have ever heard.
Andy Derrick (Jazz Views)