Fusion Tale Wagging the Groove

It seems fitting and propitious that UCSB Arts & Lectures launches another formidable season with an event both serious and shamelessly celebratory. Those twin forces are part and parcel of the popular neo-fusion band known as Snarky Puppy, bringing its happy-footed hybrid of funk, “world” influences, jazz spices, and audience-stoking instincts to the Arlington Theatre on Tuesday, October 1.

Formed in the jazz education hotbed of University of North Texas in 2004, Snarky Puppy has developed a die-hard fan base and a Grammy Award–flecked discography of 10 albums, through 2022’s Empire Central. A hefty, rotating cast of accomplished musicians have passed through the ranks of this little big band, led by founder/composer/arranger/tireless spearhead Michael League. Although the band hasn’t often registered highly in the circles of jazz cognoscente and critics, it is a self-powered success story respected for its sizzling live shows and bone-deep independent spirit.

In an interview, League explained that “In today’s world, with people’s attention spans and aesthetics and preferences, you’re already swimming upstream with a band without a vocalist, in terms of keeping people’s attention. So, we really do everything we can to provide motifs and make sure that the grooves are always interesting, that the melodies are always singable and catchy, and that compositionally, there is lots of stimuli — for us, as well as the listener.

“We just kind of accumulate members as we meet guys who fit the ethos and have a great attitude, who are responsible, play great, and can groove and interact. They should have that two-minded thing, with jazz interaction but also the sensibility of ‘I like to play a song.’”

In terms of the issue of what to call and where to place the band’s music in the genre spectrum, League admits, “When people call us a fusion band, I kind of cringe a little bit, because a lot of what people consider fusion is not something I would like. But when they call us jazz, I feel like that’s a little more accurate, but I still don’t feel like that’s really right.

“But I don’t consider us to be modern jazz. I feel like the aesthetic of modern jazz is not really song-based, and we’re basically like a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals. That’s how I think about us. We improvise all the time and every night, we play each song differently. But all of the improvisation is built around serving the composition.”

Aside from playing at The Granada Theatre in 2019, on the band’s ever-hectic touring schedule, there is another significant local connection: League collaborated with Santa Ynez resident David Crosby in the last years of the folk-rocking legend’s life. Crosby appeared on the Snarky album Family Dinner, Volume 2, and League — a bold bassist and an impressive guitarist — co-wrote songs for Crosby’s 2018 album Here if You Listen and appeared with Crosby’s band, including at the Lobero Theatre.

During the making of Family Dinner, Volume 2, with various guest musicians making cameos, League reports “There are so many photos of, say, Dave and Jan Crosby standing behind Becca [singer-guitarist, who also worked in Crosby’s band] while she’s rehearsing with the band. We’d say, ‘We only need you from four to six.’ But they’d be there at noon and leave at one in the morning, and just hang. It was so cool. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

Looking back on the Puppy trip, League marvels at the saga so far and reflects on the importance of being independent. “It started in college,” he says, “at University of North Texas. I started with my buddies, and we just played local gigs for free. We made a little record in the local studio and booked a tour, which was more like a college road trip. And that begat another tour and another tour, and then we made another record. Then, it started snowballing.

“We did this shit ourselves. We booked our own tours. We printed out our own MapQuest directions, rented our own vans, packed our own trailers, funded our own albums. Once you realize that it’s working, then you kind of form an identity as an independent artist. I tried for years to not be independent, but that’s just who we became. Now, I’m really proud of the work the guys have put in, beyond just playing the music. We really did it as a family.”

Snarky Puppy performs on Tuesday, October 1, at the Arlington Theatre at 7:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., in collaboration with the historic ARTS District, UCSB Arts & Lectures is also hosting a free Jazz & Gelato Season Kickoff party that includes a live set by KCRW’s Nassir Nassirzadeh, prizes, complimentary sweet treats from local creameries, light installations, open art galleries, and more. See artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.