Last month, dynamic jazz fusion outfit Snarky Puppy took home a Grammy award in the “Best R&B Performance” category alongside vocalist Lalah Hathaway for the song “Something,” the two’s take on Brenda Russell’s “It’s Something” from Snarky Puppy’s 2013 album Family Dinner, Vol. 1. A welcomed face around town, this Friday (February 21), the New York via Texas jazz fusion ensemble will headline the Howlin’ Wolf on a bill that also includes Banda Magda, the bossa-meets-French-pop project of Greek singer, accordionist, composer and arranger Magda Giannikou. Another special guest on SP’s Family Dinner, Vol. 1, Giannikou supplies the vocals to the track “Amour T’es Lá?”.
Recent Grammy winners Snarky Puppy plays the Howlin' Wolf on Friday, February 21, 2014.
Formed in 2006 by bassist Michael League, a student at the University of North Texas at the time, Snarky Puppy’s grass roots approach to touring and recording has garnered the group a faithful legion of followers. Key to SP’s rise is its ever-evolving sonic exploration, a reflection of its often in flux assortment of musicians. Colloquially known as “The Fam,” SP’s studio and stage compatriots number in the forties, and collectively, they’ve cut seven stellar albums and performed countless concerts through the years. This week, SP premiered the music video for the song “Shofukan,” the first number off of its soon-to-be released album and DVD We Like It Here. Upping the ante of its 2010 live album/DVD Tell Your Friends, We Like It Here was captured over the course of four nights in the Netherlands in front of a headphone-clad studio audience encircled by a 20-piece ensemble. The endeavor hits shelves next Tuesday, February 25.
Snarky Puppy is currently two weeks into a seven-month world tour that includes shows in the U.S., Canada, Indonesia, South Africa and Europe. In April, SP will record an album with the Netherland’s Metropole Orchestra. The band also has tentative plans to put out a second Family Dinner volume near year’s end.
Tickets to see Snarky Puppy and Banda Magda at the Howlin’ Wolf on Friday, February 21 are $17 and available online. The show begins at 10:00 p.m., and attendees must be 18 years of age or older to enter. The Howlin’ Wolf is located at 907 South Peters Street (map).
