On the heels of its critically acclaimed new album Immigrance’s release, popular Progressive Jazz ensemble Snarky Puppy returns to Greater Cincinnati this week.
The instrumental group has built up a fervent fan base and a stack of glowing reviews thanks to its imaginative combination of Jazz, Rock, Funk, R&B and Pop. The legit “big band” (the group contains well over a dozen players, including a horn and string section) was formed by multi-instrumentalist Michael League in Texas in 2004 when he was a freshman at the University of North Texas. The group built its loyal following with regular tours and a handful of self-released albums, before joining the Ropeadope label’s roster in 2010.
In 2014, Snarky Puppy won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance for its collaboration with singer Lalah Hathaway on the track “Something.” Since then, besides topping the readers’ polls of Jazztimes and DownBeat year after year, the collective won two more Grammys, both for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (for Sylva, released on venerable Jazz label Impulse! in 2015, and Culcha Vulcha, which was distributed by the massive major label Universal — in conjunction with League's own longtime imprint, GroundUP — in 2016).
Immigrance finds Snarky Puppy’s hot streak continuing, with strong debuts on multiple charts and positive reviews from Rolling Stone and several other major outlets.
8 p.m. Wednesday. $40; $45 day of show. Madison Theater, 730 Madison Ave., Covington, madisontheater.com.
