Ghost-Note (band)

Last updated
Ghost-Note
ART7085 Ghost-Note by Kory Thibeault 300dpi RGB PR8406.jpg
Background information
Origin Dallas, Texas, US
Genres
Years active2014–present
Labels
  • Ropeadope
Artistry Music/Mack Avenue Music Group
Spinoff of
Members
  • Robert "Sput" Searight
  • Nate Werth
  • AJ Brown
  • Dywane "MonoNeon" Thomas
  • Sylvester Onyejiaka
  • Dominique Xavier Taplin
  • Jonathan Mones
  • Mike Jelani Brooks
Website www.ghost-note-official.com

Ghost-Note is a percussion-based funk, hip hop and jazz fusion group [1] from Dallas, Texas, [2] 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. [3]

Contents

Ghost-Note's two albums – Fortified and Swagism – both reached No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz Chart.

Career

Robert "Sput" Searight founded God's Property, a gospel choir affiliated with Kirk Franklin. [1] [4] Nate Werth was a music student at the University of North Texas and a member of Snarky Puppy, then playing jam sessions around Dallas. Searight and Werth performed together with Snarky Puppy through seven albums (of nine the group recorded during that time). [5]

In 2014, Searight and Werth wanted to create another band that would focus on percussion and what they termed "conscious funk". [6] They formed Ghost-Note and released their first album, Fortified, on the Ropeadope label in October 2015, incorporating influences from jazz, hip hop and EDM music. [1] Fortified featured Snarky Puppy keyboardist Shaun Martin, vocalist N'Dambi and guitarist Mark Lettieri, among others. [7] The album went to No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz chart. [8]

Swagism was Ghost-Note's second album, released in April 2018 on Ropeadope. This album also went to No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz chart. [9] It featured guitarist Raja Kassis, spoken word artist and author Prudence the Auset Sneed, saxophonist Kamasi Washington and guitarist Brandon "Taz" Neiderauer. [7] Matt Stieg of New York magazine wrote that, on Swagism, Searight and Werth "stretch their ensemble into all possible contortions, from CTI's disco to D'Angelo's funk. It's the omnivorous diet of J Dilla come to life in big-band form." [10]

Touring

Ghost-Note began touring in 2015. A rotating membership of musicians joined them onstage, including keyboardist Daniel Jones, xylosynth player Nick Werth, drummer Alvin Ford Jr [3] and bassist Cody Wright. [11] In 2018, the touring ensemble included bassist Dwayne "MonoNeon" Thomas Jr., keyboardists Xavier Taplin and Vaughn "V.Keys" Henry, guitarist Peter Knudsen, and saxophonist/flutist Jonathan Mones. [2] The group has played the Edmonton International Jazz Festival, [12] the London Jazz Festival, [6] the TD Ottawa JazzFest, [13] and the Montreal Jazz Fest. [14] They have performed in Memphis, Chicago, San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Dallas, as well as at shows in Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. [15]

Members

Additional contributors

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Reynolds (saxophonist)</span> American musician (born 1977)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snarky Puppy</span> American jazz ensemble

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".

<i>Family Dinner – Volume 1</i> 2013 studio album by Snarky Puppy

Family Dinner – Volume 1 is an album by the American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released in 2013.

<i>GroundUP</i> (album) 2012 live album by Snarky Puppy

GroundUP is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released in 2012. The album was recorded live at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn, New York, in front of a studio audience.

<i>Sylva</i> (album) 2015 live album by Snarky Puppy and Metropole Orkest

Sylva is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on May 26, 2015. It was a collaboration between the band and the Metropole Orkest from the Netherlands. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. According to Michael League, each song on the album is about a different forest.

<i>Bring Us the Bright</i> 2008 studio album by Snarky Puppy

Bring Us the Bright is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released in 2008.

<i>Tell Your Friends</i> (Snarky Puppy album) 2010 studio album by Snarky Puppy

Tell Your Friends is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released in 2010.

<i>Family Dinner – Volume 2</i> 2016 studio album by Snarky Puppy

Family Dinner – Volume 2 is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on February 12, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 in jazz</span> Overview of the events of 2014 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 2014.

<i>Culcha Vulcha</i> 2016 studio album by Snarky Puppy

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malika Tirolien</span> Musical artist

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larnell Lewis</span> Canadian musician

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Laurance</span> English musician

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.

This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 2022.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Searight</span> American musician

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.

<i>Empire Central</i> 2022 studio album by Snarky Puppy

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genevieve Artadi</span> American musician and songwriter (born 1982)

Genevieve Artadi is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is best known as the co-founder of the jazz-funk duo Knower, along with Louis Cole. She was also the lead vocalist of the electro-pop band Pollyn, which formed in 1998. Additionally, she has recorded and performed with Jacob Collier, Snarky Puppy, and Thundercat.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stewart, Allison (March 23, 2017). "Ghost-Note is doing it all over again, from Snarky Puppy's famous roots". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 Arnaudin, Edwin (October 15, 2018). "Smart Bets: Ghost-Note". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 "This Weekend's Kids & Family Activities in Bronx". NY Metro Parents. June 13, 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  4. ↑ Setaro, Shawn (May 26, 2016). "The City You Love to Hate Makes Every Song You Love". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  5. ↑ Dunn, Patrick (March 29, 2017). "Ghost-Note is driven by the search for a groove". Detroit News. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 Flynn, Mike (September 18, 2018). "EFG renews title sponsorship, Jazz Voice stars, Rymden and Jamie Baum for EFG London Jazz Fest". Jazz Wise Magazine. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Ghost-Note Gets Down, Gets Funky & Gets Loose On 'Swagism'". Soul Bounce. March 5, 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "On Stage: Jazz Fest comes to Oak Bay". Oak Bay News. June 22, 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Enter "Deep In The Swag" With Ghost-Note As New Video Highlights 'Swagism' Creation". okayplayer.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  10. ↑ Stieg, Matt (June 4, 2018). "Your June Jazz Calendar Ten top-tier jazz shows to catch this month". New York magazine. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  11. ↑ Robertson, Graham (June 19, 2018). "Ghost-Note and Backbeat Underground Give Funk Flavors a Powerful Kick". DC Music Review. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  12. ↑ Levesque, Roger (June 23, 2018). "International acts head for the cutting edge at jazz fest". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  13. ↑ "Ghost-Note". ottawajazzfestival.com. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  14. ↑ Dunlevy, T'Cha (June 30, 2018). "Jazz fest picks for June 30, 2018: Kamasi Washington, Spanish Harlem Orchestra". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  15. ↑ Deflin, Kendall (September 27, 2018). "Ghost-Note Announces Fall 2018 European Tour". Live for Live Music. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.