Snarky Puppy Brings Joyous, Eclectic Mix to Jorgensen
Five-time Grammy winning band Snarky Puppy will perform Friday, April 12 at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts as part of its worldwide tour. The group arrives in Storrs after returning from performances in Japan and Australia for several eastern U.S. dates before heading to Europe.
The ensemble of sidemen and solo artists was formed by bassist and primary composer Michael League in 2004, starting inconspicuously enough as a group of college friends at the University of North Texas’ Jazz Studies program. Three years later, a serendipitous intersection with the Dallas gospel and R&B community in Dallas transformed the music into something funkier, more direct, and more visceral.
Snarky Puppy is a collective of sorts with as many as 25 members in regular rotation. They each maintain busy schedules as sidemen (with such artists as Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and D’Angelo), producers (for Kirk Franklin, David Crosby, and Salif Keïta), and solo artists (many of whom are on the band’s indy label, GroundUP Music). At its core, the band represents the convergence of both Black and white American music culture with various accents from around the world. Japan, Argentina, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico all have representation in the group’s membership. Snarky Puppy has won Grammys for both Best R&B Performance and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, most recently last year for “Empire Central.”
For more information or to purchase tickets, go to Jorgensen.uconn.edu.
Chris Bullock, a saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who joined Snarky Puppy in 2005, spoke with WHUS on the Good Music show, (Wednesdays from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) about being a part of the group and his own solo career.
Latest UConn Today
- Dr. Cato T. Laurencin of UConn Honored by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI)Professor Sir Cato T. Laurencin has long been an influential force and a driver of innovation in the inventor’s world.
- Dr. Linda Sprague Martinez of UConn Health Disparities Institute Served as Keynote Speaker at Hispanic Health Council’s Annual Maternal Health ConferenceDuring Hispanic Heritage Month Connecticut’s Experts in Maternal Health and Violence Prevention Gathered in Hartford.
- Comfort in 3D: Study Finds Virtual Reality Eases Patient AnxietyEven a simple skin procedure can make someone a little nervous. At UConn Health, a new study is helping patients find calm in an unexpected way – through virtual reality. Led by fourth-year medical student Avni Jain in partnership with dermatology chief resident Dr. Albert Zhou – the study gives patients the chance to slip […]
- Working in Multiples: Counterproof Press Exhibition Displays Art Made At and For UConnSince 2014, whenever a visiting artist would come to the University, they would create an original piece for Counterproof to print – almost like a souvenir of their time here
- A New AI-Based Method to Help Prevent Biological InvasionsAs the world becomes more interconnected, some plants have benefitted from a greater ease in movement from one region to another, while some have become problematic. Some introduced species gain a competitive edge, spreading rapidly, outcompeting native vegetation, and transforming entire ecosystems. These species are known as “invasive,” and they can disrupt food webs, alter […]
- Retired Army Major Wins EBV Alumni Event Pitch CompetitionWashington said his work is not only empowering young people but that it gives his own life greater clarity. “People who don’t know their purpose in life are not clear about what they want, and therefore waste their time on mediocre things,’’ he said.
