Forq | |
|---|---|
 Forq live in concert in The Hague, Netherlands | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Jazz fusion |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | GroundUPmusic |
| Spinoff of | Snarky Puppy |
| Members |
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| Past members | |
| Website | forqmusic |
Forq (pronounced "fork" [1] ) is an American jazz fusion band from New York and Texas.
Forq was co-founded by keyboardist Henry Hey and Snarky Puppy member, bassist Michael League. The original formation of the band included guitarist Adam Rogers, and drummer Jason "JT" Thomas. Hey, a founding member of the band Rudder, had played a few Rudder shows, sharing the bill with Snarky Puppy before suggesting a collaboration with League, starting with a few live shows in New York City. [2] The group's debut self-titled album was released on Snarky Puppy's label, GroundUP Music, in 2014. Rogers left the group and was replaced by Snarky Puppy guitarist Chris McQueen early in 2015 prior to a tour of Europe. [3] The group's sophomore album, Batch, was issued in June 2015. [4] The group played at Snarky Puppy's GroundUp Festival in February 2017 and released a third album, Threq, in mid-2017. [5] [6] Since the release of Threq, bassist Michael League has been replaced by bassist Kevin Scott. [7] [8]
Bob Reynolds is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. A solo recording artist since 2000, he has been a member of the popular "genre-bending" instrumental group Snarky Puppy since 2014, winning Grammy Awards with the band for the albums Culcha VulchaLive at the Royal Albert Hall, and Empire Central.
Michelle Willis is a British-born, Canadian-raised singer/songwriter and keyboard player. She performs regularly as a solo artist and as a side musician with David Crosby and Becca Stevens. She has also worked with Iggy & The Stooges, Laura Mvula, Snarky Puppy, The Parachute Club, and the Zac Brown Band.
Lucy Woodward is an English-American singer-songwriter. She has recorded for Atlantic, Verve, and GroundUP and has sung background vocals for Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Snarky Puppy, Celine Dion, Pink Martini, Gavin DeGraw, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Nikka Costa, and Randy Jackson. She co-wrote Stacie Orrico's Top 40 hit "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life".
Snarky Puppy is an American jazz fusion band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won five Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalists, League described Snarky Puppy as "a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals".
Becca Stevens is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who draws upon elements of jazz, chamber pop, indie rock, and folk.
This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 2014.
Culcha Vulcha is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on April 29, 2016. The album includes performances by a number of musicians associated with the band and called "the Fam". The band's first studio album in eight years since Bring Us the Bright, it was recorded at the Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas near El Paso and Atlantic Sound Studios in Brooklyn, New York, by Nic Hard.
Michael League is an American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the bandleader of New York–based instrumental band Snarky Puppy and the international music ensemble Bokanté. He also founded the band Forq with keyboardist Henry Hey, and is also an owner and founder of the record label GroundUP Music. League has won five Grammy Awards.
GroundUP Music is an American record label known for recordings in a variety of genres including jazz, world music, folk, rock, and gospel. The label was founded in 2012 by Michael League as a home for his band Snarky Puppy. The roster of acts on the label has since expanded, with several artists and bands being tied to Snarky Puppy and/or members of that band.
Henry Hey is an American keyboardist, songwriter, producer, arranger and musical director. He has worked with artists such as David Bowie, Empire of the Sun, Rod Stewart, and George Michael. As a solo artist, he is the co-founder of the jazz fusion band Forq and a member of the band Rudder. Hey has been a producer for a number of artists including Lucy Woodward, Tony Kadleck, Shunzo Ohno, Lisa Lisa. Hey's playing can also be heard on several major motion pictures including Ocean's Twelve, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Hundred-Foot Journey.
Malika Tirolien is a Montreal-based singer-songwriter and pianist. She sang on the Grammy Award winning album Family Dinner – Volume 1 by Snarky Puppy.
Ghost-Note are a percussion-based funk, hip hop and jazz fusion group from Dallas, Texas, with a rotating membership based around founding drummer Robert "Sput" Searight and founding percussionist Nate Werth, two members of the jazz band Snarky Puppy. The group also includes bassist MonoNeon, keyboardist Dominique Xavier Taplin, saxophonist/flutist Michael Jelani Brooks, saxophonist/flutist Jonathan Mones, and saxophonist/flutist Sylvester Onyejiaka.
Larnell Lewis is a Canadian drummer, composer, producer, and educator. He is most well known for playing drums with the Brooklyn-based jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy.
Immigrance is the thirteenth album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy. It was released on March 15, 2019, and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart in the United States.
Bill Laurance is an English composer, producer, and multi-instrumental musician. Laurance is a member of jazz fusion and funk band Snarky Puppy, as well as founder and CEO of London-based record label Flint Music.
Zach Brock is an American jazz violinist and composer. He has been a member of Snarky Puppy since 2007 and has worked with Stanley Clarke, Phil Markowitz, and Dave Liebman, as well as leading his own groups.
Mark Lettieri is an American guitarist, composer and producer. He is a member of the jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy, funk band The Fearless Flyers, and also performs with his quartet, the Mark Lettieri Group. His background spans several genres including jazz, rock and funk. He has released seven solo albums. His 2021 album Deep: The Baritone Sessions Vol. 2 was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.
Robert "Sput" Searight is an American drummer, composer and producer best known for his work with jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy and as co-founder of the percussion-based band Ghost-Note. His background spans several genres including jazz, funk, hip-hop and gospel. He has toured and recorded with a variety of artists including Kirk Franklin, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Erykah Badu and Toto. He has received a Grammy award for his work on the album God's Property.
House of Waters is an American international fusion band. Created c. 2008, it is composed of hammered dulcimer player Max ZT, six-stringed bassist Moto Fukushima, and have worked with a variety of different drummers and percussionists over the years.
Empire Central is the fifteenth album and seventh live album by American band Snarky Puppy. Released on September 30, 2022, on GroundUP Music, it won Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 65th Grammy Awards.
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