Friday 9 June 2017

On Stage: Snarky Puppy @ Paradiso



I've been trying to catch the jazz collective Snarky Puppy for quite some time now, but never managed to. Either I wasn't able to visit their show or it was already sold out. This time they are playing two nights in Paradiso and tickets went on sale a long time ago. Still I managed to miss out on tickets, because I forgot about it and didn't remember before it sold out. Ticketswap to the rescue! Finally I was going to see this exciting jazz band.

Snarky Puppy at Paradiso Amsterdam, June 6 2017

The group has established quite a name by now which explains the two sold out shows in Paradiso. Wherever they play, people are blown away by their amazing talent and creative compositions. Add to that the amount of fun they put into it and you have an explosive combination that aims to please. Leader of the pack is bassist Michael League who will make sure it all stays together. He will point to his colleagues to indicate they can start a solo, when to go back into the song's theme or end it.



But most important of all, he allows the band to play freely with dazzling solo's, inventive breaks and virtuoso playing. It is wonderful to see how League can sometimes watch his colleagues in awe or look surprised with excitement when he hears something he likes. This goes for everyone, where they all watch each other and really enjoy each other's playing. It is this electrifying chemistry what lifts this band to a stellar level, of course combined with a lot of talent.



Since these guys are amazing musicians, no question about it. Every single one of them excels on his instrument. Out of this world keyboard and synthesizer solo's, finger licking guitar licks, splashing percussion, mind blowing drumming, sparkling horns and incredible bass grooves. Zach Brock' violin will knock you off your socks and sometimes you can't tell it apart from an electric guitar. Percussionists of the Metropole Orkest join the group on a track from the collaborative album Sylva which won them a Grammy.



The crowd loves it tonight and goes nuts when the band is going wild, but will stay very quiet in the lush slower pieces. This is how a band and crowd find each other and feed on each other's energy until electricity is in the air. This band is simply one of the best and most exciting groups in the jazz world today. Judging from the many young people in here tonight, they are also making sure jazz music is appealing to a younger generation as well.



All Pictures

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