Show Review - Snarky Puppy 6/28/23 Toronto, ON
Grammy-winning collective Snarky Puppy brought their Empire Central tour to History in Toronto last night as a part of the annual TD Jazz Festival. The group’s first performance in my hometown since 2019 highlighted their recent release Empire Central, as they continue their world tour in support of the Grammy-winning album.
Opening act Okan took the stage at 8:00 sharp and played an amazing 30-minute set of Afro-Cuban fusion music. The duo, comprised of violinist Elizabeth Rodriguez and percussionist Magdelys Savigne, seamlessly blended their native style of music with elements of jazz, roots, and folk – their songs contained vocals in Spanish, English, and some “Spanglish.”
The ten-piece lineup of Snarky Puppy took the stage at 9:00 and played just short of two hours – nine Empire Central cuts and two of their older and more well-known bangers.
The lineup:
Michael League – bass
Jason “JT” Thomas – drums
Nate Werth – percussion
Bobby Sparks – keyboards
Justin Stanton – keyboards/trumpet
Jay Jennings – trumpet/flugelhorn
Mike “Maz” Maher – trumpet/flugelhorn
Chris Bullock – tenor sax/flute
Mark Lettieri – guitar
Zach Brock – violin
Lettieri began the show the same way as the album kicks off – with the hard-hitting riff to “Keep It On Your Mind.” Sparks dug into the thick clav line as the band stretched into the familiar funk groove. Jennings took a winding trumpet solo in the middle of the song before Sparks lit up the ending on Minimoog synth.
Continuing in album order, Bullock composition “East Bay” brought forth its dark and twisting melodies ahead of an angular sax solo by the song’s author. “Bet” ramped up the energy with two solos from Maz and Brock – each using a very light touch of effects on their instruments. One amazing thing about the live version of this song that the studio lacks is the guitar interlude. Lettieri wound up some of his trademark bluesy riffs as he and League engaged in a little bit of back-and-forth.
League took a moment to greet the crowd and talk a bit about Empire Central before launching into the next song – Brock composition “Honiara.” The irregular time signature and intricate horn soli makes this song stand out among the much more groove-based songs on the album – as League put it, “the only song NOT about Texas on this release…but it’s awesome so we recorded it anyway.” Stanton’s lyrical Moog solo over the bridge led to a beautiful flugelhorn solo by Jennings to close it out.
Wasting no time as the last notes of “Honiara” faded away, JT subtly began grooving into the intro of “Broken Arrow.” League’s lone solo spot of the night came as he built textures for about a minute before cueing the band into the song proper. This Justin Stanton composition has become one of my favourites off Empire Central recently, appealing to my jamband sensibilities with its extended solo section. Lettieri was the pick for this version, and he delivered on his lone spotlight of the night with great effect. His signature sunburst PRS Fiore guitar shone as he worked the funky beats, slowly building up to an explosive finish.
Things cooled down next with Jennings’ “Cliroy,” Maz’s true moment to shine during last night’s show. During his extended solo, the majority of the band left the stage – leaving JT, Stanton, and Sparks to layer underneath the trumpet. The two keyboardists added Moog bass and Rhodes electric piano to the mix, both offering support to Maz and pushing him in new directions throughout the extended segment.
The energy picked back up with a ripping “RL’s,” its classic Texas shuffle getting the sold-out crowd grooving. Bullock took the first solo with some heavy effects, taking the dissonance and synthy undertones to a new level. Jennings rocked the B section on flugelhorn, taking the normally aggressive song and getting gentle as JT pulled some impressive subdivision off. It was time for the lone “clav tweet” of the night as Sparks demolished the outro – a treat to finally experience the power of his whammy clav in a live setting!
League paused to give a lengthy tribute to the band’s mentor Bernard Wright, a huge inspiration for Empire Central and legendary musician who tragically passed away last year. After telling a story of meeting Sparks and JT along with Wright at a church gig nearly 20 years ago, he introduced ballad cut “Belmont.”
Stanton’s synth-layered piano filled every corner of the venue as the crowd listened in rapture to the textures of the slow number. Brock’s solo, like the song, was slow, tasteful, and absolutely GORGEOUS. The soft keyboards faded out and led directly into “Pineapple,” a Maz composition with a distinct upbeat groove. Jennings took his fourth solo of the night before Stanton rocked the Minimoog once again to close out the Empire Central portion of the concert.
Opting for a set-closing “Sleeper,” Sparks attemped to play both clav and Minimoog on the We Like it Here track, but technical difficulties (and some laughs) landed him on the organ. This was my first time experiencing this powerful song with a Hammond B3 at the forefront, and it was absolutely phenomenal.
Before the encore, JT came out and delivered an excellent introduction to fellow Snarky Puppy drummer Larnell Lewis, who lives in Toronto. “We can’t play in his hometown and let him leave without playing…so here he is!” Lewis took the stage to thunderous applause as the band launched into “Lingus.” Naturally, the drummer took a massive solo that was the perfect way to cap off an amazing night of music.
Snarky Puppy heads to Ottawa and Montreal this weekend before their annual tour of Europe’s summer jazz festivals. Catch them back in North America in September…I cannot wait for the two shows I plan to hit!