DOG DAYS
Take a listen to Immigrance, Snarky Puppy’s new album—the Brooklyn collective’s 13th in 14 years—and, as with all its predecessors, you find yourself quickly immersed. But in what, exactly? The conundrum behind everything that Snarky Puppy does is that it doesn’t sound like anything else. Sure, the basic approach is jazz, but then you come across a song that is nothing like jazz. Then there’s a dose of electronica and a slab of folk and a chunk of rock, and you eventually come to the conclusion that you can’t file Snarky Puppy away in any convenient category because there isn’t one that fits. They do so much, so well, and with such energy and skill, that you end up simply enjoying their output for what it is—great music.
While over 40 musicians have passed through the ranks over the years, bassist Michael League is the man in charge. Between stints in the band he works on outside projects with David Crosby and other stellar musicians, as well as running a band called Bokanté, and while bass is definitely a strong suit in the League arsenal, his
