# That skepticism was unwarranted: Snarky Puppy at Carnegie Hall: Video

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2018/02/02/that-skepticism-was-unwarranted-snarky-puppy-at-carnegie-hall-video/
- Published: 2018-02-02T11:17:23+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Theme concerts sometimes can lack authenticity. So, a bit of skepticism emerged
in some quarters when Carnegie Hall announced that Snarky Puppy—a nonet whose members
are mostly in their 30s and have no direct experience with the 1960s—would host 
a show featuring protest music from, and inspired by, the decade. That skepticism
was unwarranted.**

The band’s leader, bassist Michael League, has long enjoyed a close relationship
with ‘60s icon David Crosby, who was on hand for the New York show—and in fighting
form. The concert’s other guest performers, though also in their 30s, turned out
to be a group of latter-day dissenters.

The Jan. 25 concert was part of a 10-week citywide celebration—“The ‘60s: The Years
That Changed America”—intended to draw links between that era, broadly defined, 
and the present day. At Carnegie Hall, no one brought that connection into sharper
focus than mandolinist Chris Thile.

In “Falsetto,” a masterfully wrought dart aimed directly at the administration of
President Donald Trump, Thile—a vibrant stage presence who hosts public radio’s 
_Live From Here_—coyly took the president to task for the deterioration of America’s
international relations. More to the point, he criticized a growing intolerance 
at home, slipping in and out of falsetto as he imagined how the president might 
threaten a straight-talking entertainer: “Don’t tell it like it is/Entertainers 
better keep the entertainment light.”

Paralleling that critique, Thile, in his second number, took on Richard Nixon—whom
Trump had praised—through the words and music of Stevie Wonder’s post-Watergate 
accusation, “You Haven’t Done Nothin’.” Reaching back even further, the singer skewered
the military establishment in a gritty rendition of Bob Dylan’s 1963 “Masters Of
War,” driving home his points with emotive singing and effusive improvisations that
wrung the most out of his small fretboard.

Marvin Gaye was the muse for British vocalist Laura Mvula, who mined the Gaye songbook
and, to a degree, his style in a sensuous but stinging version of “Inner City Blues.”
As the piece unfolded, her languorous voice took on a sharper edge, playing off 
League’s bass and transforming the tune’s signature riff into a moment of heightened
communication—one that no doubt reflected their collaboration on Snarky Puppy’s 
2016 _Family Dinner, Volume 2_ (Decca).

Providing some contrast was Malian singer Fautmola Diawara. Decked out in a flamboyant
red dress and hat, she revealed a kinetic style that matched the pulsating music.“
Mousso,” which touted the power of women, and “Unite,” a plea for peace, introduced
West African rhythms to the mix, allowing the band to stretch and sparked some dazzling
choreographic interplay between Diawara and Mvula. The shimmying and shaking onstage
grew so animated that it brought the audience to its feet.

For its part, Snarky Puppy had kicked off the concert with three of its tunes: “
Kite,” from 2014’s _We Like It Here_ (GroundUP), and, from 2016’s _Culcha Vulcha_(
GroundUP), “Semente” and “Grown Folks.” As instrumentals, the tunes’ relationship
to the evening’s theme was less explicit than that of the program’s other material;
League joked that the three tunes were notable for “protesting vocalists.” Still,
they set the scene, evoking a fusion vibe with smooth turns by Justin Stanton, on
Rhodes piano, and Shaun Martin, on synthesizer.

Beyond the opening tunes, Snarky Puppy functioned largely as a brilliantly equipped
house band. With League leading the cues, the horn section of Chris Bullock on saxophones
and Jay Jennings and Mike “Maz” Maher on trumpets—Stanton doubled on that instrument
as well—proved as adept at delivering a tightly wound punch as shaping a sonorous
phrase. Stanton, Martin, Bob Lanzetti on guitar, Larnell Lewis on drums and Nate
Werth on percussion provided color and a cushion throughout.

In one of the evening’s revelations, Maher stepped out of the horn section for a
vocal on “These Words.” Drawn from his latest album, _Idealist_ (GroundUP), the 
tune offered commentary on music and politics, in the process building a profile
for Maher as an estimable balladeer.

But in the end, the night belonged to Crosby. Sporting a loose black shirt and rust-
colored knit hat, he appeared onstage to raucous applause halfway through the two-
hour set. After a few prickly remarks, he led a rousing “Long Time Gone,” which 
he wrote in the wake of Sen. Robert Kennedy’s 1968 assassination.

But Crosby seemed determined not to play the rock star. After “Long Time Gone,” 
he laid back, contributing an unobtrusive rhythm guitar until again taking center
stage for the regular program’s penultimate number, his 1971 commentary on the anonymous
power elite, “What Are Their Names.” That piece naturally segued into the closer,
Stephen Stills’ cautionary “For What It’s Worth,” which in turn invited the evening’s
single encore, Neil Young’s unforgiving “Ohio.”

If any bridging of the generation gap was needed, “Ohio” was the vehicle—calling
to mind today’s police killings of unarmed civilians as readily as it did the National
Guard’s 1970 killing of four students on the campus of Kent State University. With
Lanzetti nailing the opening guitar figure, Crosby, his voice no worse for a lifetime
of wear, led the assembled crowd—artist and audience alike—as they echoed the close
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young harmonies of yesteryear, hammering home the refrain:“
Four dead in Ohio.”

![Image](https://i0.wp.com/downbeat.com/images/news/_full/snarkyWEB_Fadi_Kheir.jpg?
w=640)

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