Snarky Puppy, Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, London, 06/10/2015.

Completely blown away last night at Hammersmith Odeon (Eventim Apollo!).
Snarky Puppy were off-the-scale brilliant and I can safely say that I’ve witnessed the arrival of the latest jazz supergroup to rank alongside Pat Metheny Group and Weather Report.

Lengthy virtuoso solos from Cory Henry and London’s own Bill Laurence on keyboards, Justin Stanton on trumpet and keyboards (the show-off), Mark Lettieri on electric guitar, Mike Maher on trumpet, Chris Bullock on tenor sax and flute, Nate Worth and Marcello Woloski on percussion and Robert Searight on drums, all held together superbly by bandleader and bass player Michael League, whose own playing puts him up there in the premier league of brilliant bass players. The variety, the pace, the sheer joy with which they play and, most importantly, the tunes keep you on your toes for the whole two hours. Spontaneous standing ovations and a guest appearance by the velvet-voiced Laura Mvula for the first encore ensured that the crowds went home (reluctantly) ecstatically happy. And probably with sore throats after the sing-along sections! Still really buzzing - and slightly deaf - my goodness they were loud!

Loud, sassy and brassy, they’ve got the spirit, energy and decibels to be playing the O2 at this rate. Grab a ticket on the day of release next time they’re over here – they’re going to sell out fast.

Simply brilliant!

MARK ALBINI

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