Musical groups Snarky Puppy and The Nth Power put on an incredible show at the University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday.
Snarky Puppy is a five-time Grammy winning connective that has been around since 2004. The band’s music spans across various genres, including hard rock, modern gospel, funk, blues, classic soul and jazz.
The Nth Power is a smaller band than Snarky Puppy, featuring Nick Cassarino on guitar and vocals, Nate Edgar on bass and Nikki Glaspie on drums. The band first met in New Orleans during Jazz Fest in 2012, an annual celebration of the city’s music and culture. The Nth Power’s music also branches into different genres, like funk, blues and soul.
First to perform was The Nth Power, kicking off the show with “Only You,” a hit from their 2015 album Abundance. The song captured beautiful and marvelous melodiesthat were carried throughout their time at the concert. The song began with a guitar solo that created uplifting chords. About 30 seconds in, the bass and drums joined the guitar. Cassarino’s vocals were incredible, making it an astounding harmonious piece.
The Nth Power’s next tune was about not giving up. Comprised of inspiring lyrics that flawlessly blended with the guitar, bass and drums, the song’s sanguine themeremained lively throughout its duration.
The show’s environment shifted when The Nth Power played their third hit. Instead of providing an optimistic tone, the band gave the audience groovy and sassy sentiments.
Starting with a slow tempo, Cassarino incited powerful vocals that incited applause from the audience. The pace accelerated mid-performance as electrifying guitar solos and Cassarino’s compelling vocals continued to harmonize the song’s verses.
To conclude their time at the Jorgensen Center, the Nth Power played “Dream Alive,” the opener of their newest album, “Never Alone.” The song was one of the longestperformed at the show. Encompassing a mixture of jazz and rock, the hit gave a variety of melodies for the audience to enjoy. It also featured remarkable solos and duets, including a solo from Glaspie and a duet between Glaspie and Cassarino.
After a 15-minute intermission, Snarky Puppy took over the stage. They initiated their presence with “Waves Upon Waves,” which began with a somber flugelhorn solo. Roughly 20 seconds in, flutes, violins, trumpets and drums joined the flugelhorn, producing grandiose chords.
The second song Snarky Puppy performed was “Chimera,” which contained a very disparate mood from “Waves Upon Waves.” Beginning with a dramatic trumpet solo, the hit filled the audience with suspense and eeriness. Most of the song consists of cohesive duets between the drums and the trumpets, which’s daunting melodies remainedvivid.
At the end of the song, Michael League, bassist and bandleader, shared the theme of the songs Snarky Puppy was playing.
“All these songs go around the idea of dreams,” League said. “What dreaming is and all its different facets.”
League also mentioned the meaning of the second song Snarky Puppy played.
“The last song’s obviously about the weirder dreams,” League said.
The next piece Snarky Puppy performed was “As You Are but Not as You Were.” The song’s mood was more buoyant. It contained wondrous collaborations between the trumpets, drums and flutes that provoked a paradisiacal mood.
The band’s next two tunes continued to produce this paradisiacal scheme. Both had amazing saxophone, piano and violin solos that wowed the audience with applause.
Before moving on to their sixth piece, League mentioned that the music he and his band was playing came from their November album, Somni. He also acknowledged the absence of two people who helped them compose the album.
“I recorded this with Metropole Orkest and Jules Buckley, who are very obviously not here with us tonight,” League said. “So, we’re doing our best to play seven times as much to make up for them.”
The sixth tune Snarky Puppy played at the show was one of their jazz ones. The tempo consistently shifted throughout the performance, which had stellar solos from the trumpets, guitars and French horns.
The final three songs Snarky Puppy performed were similar to one another. They all contained intense vigor produced by the guitars, drums and trumpets.
There were also some distinct elements within the pieces. The seventh song began with a somber piano solo that was later intensified by the trumpets and flutes. Meanwhile, the eighth tune featured numerous solo breaks that the audience clapped along to.
At the end of the show, League thanked everyone for attending. He also stated that tonight‘s performance was significant to him and the band.
“Tonight was a little bit different, especially since we just played 85 minutes of new music,” League said.
League said he someday hopes to return to UConn with Justin Stanton, one of Snarky Puppy’s trumpet players.
“We hope to come back very soon, especially Justin and I,” League said. “Maybe just to spend a week playing tennis.”
League joked about the discrepant conditions between UConn’s public tennis courts and other public tennis courts in the U.S.
“The state of public courts in the U.S. is just not great,” League said. “But here, it is.”
Andrew Cecarelli, an eighth-semester jazz studies major, said he admired the show.
“I thought it was really good,” Cecarelli said. “I came to this the last time they were at Jorgensen, and this one had a really different vibe.”
Despite the concert having a different vibe, Cecarelli said he still relished it.
“But I really liked it,” Cecarelli said. “I think I got the best out of both bands.”