JFB 2022: Snarky Puppy

Deliberately ignoring genre boundaries, spontaneous concerts and awards in categories from jazz to R'n'B? This is the business card of the numerous Snarky Puppy ensemble, which will be presented for the first time in Brno.
The band recently awarded the Grammy Award for their live album Live at the Royal Albert Hall is coming to Sono Centra, already the third golden gramophone in their showcase. But it was a long way to the Royal Albert Hall. The band's story began in the Texas town of Denton, where the historically first college jazz department has been operating since 1947. Its graduate is also bassist Michael League, who founded Snarky Puppy as a ten-member group for the purposes of a school project. After opening at J&J Pizza on the Square and serving at other, often obscure, venues in Denton, the bandleader decided to record a debut album on the cheap while also doing his first-ever tour of small clubs and student parties. The entire first decade of the band's operation was similar - they repeatedly crossed the States and played in any hole where the organizer dared to risk their engagement. Meanwhile, the bandleader and a few of his companions moved to nearby Dallas to get a foothold in the gospel and R'n'B scene there. The 2010 album Tell Your Friends turned out to be a turning point. During its filming, the band not only used the power of performing live in front of an audience, but also grabbed the promotion by the snares, and its music finally reached a wider circle of listeners. The first European tour was not long in coming and the band jumped on a wave of interest that continues to this day. Another significant step up the ladder of popularity came in 2013, when Snarky Puppy, thanks to the collaboration with singer Lalah Hathaway, earned the first Grammy award for the best performance in the R'n'B category. They also won Grammys for the albums Sylva and Culcha Vulcha.