Brock, Lanzetti, Ogawa: Drawing Songs

Encountering new additions to the Snarky Puppy musical diaspora is always interesting. Some members' solo efforts are more direct stylistic offshoots of the mother band while others branch out in very different directions, but it is a safe bet that they will showcase the musicianship which got them into the burgeoning collective in the first place.

Drawing Songs, by long-time SP bandmates Zach Brock, Bob Lanzetti and Keita Ogawa, is one of these which is a refreshing musical stretch away from familiar SP territory, and illuminates things that become easier to miss in the larger, group- focused setting of Snarky Puppy. It is perhaps the unusual instrumentation in this trio which is cause for just as much thrill to the ride on Drawing Songs.

To put a finer point on it, it is the absence of things that makes all the difference here. There is no bassist, no keyboards, no standard drum kit—just violin, guitar and percussion. There are overdubs, effects and assorted embellishments but it is the space these absences furnish that allows this trio's creativity to bloom and also gives the listener a deeper sense of what is there.

Lanzetti favors the acoustic guitar for much of his rhythm and lead work on the album, the more open sonics yielding extra aural room for it to shine. This is a decidedly pleasing marriage to his largely acoustic brethren, but he also puts forth a wide array of electric tones and use of pedals at select times to great contrast and effect. His incendiary electric work on "Jando" shows him capable of being both tasteful and unleashed.

Violinist Brock's work throughout Drawing Songs is mindful, melodic and eloquent but it is especially notable just how palpably fearless he is in his improvisations (see any of them) while keeping such gorgeously perfect intonation on his instrument—something again highlighted by the sonically uncluttered nature here and truly worthy of kudos.

The deeper secret to the success of the album—and perhaps one of the easiest to overlook—is percussionist Ogawa. Music with this kind of open, essential (and sometimes even skeletal) nature is not only enhanced by a percussionist of Ogawa's touch and mindset but would likely buckle under the heft of most traditional full-kit drummers. That said, the percussionist's talents do take an occasional front seat, especially in the Ogawa-penned "Moro Morocco" and the album-closing "Snow Claw"—which only adds to the effect of this album's end feeling especially unfair.

Indeed, Drawing Songs' only apparent flaw might be that it seemingly ends too soon, clocking in at a scant 34 minutes but in an age where musicians barely receive adequate compensation for recordings, it is something one can barely quibble over anymore. To get music of this quality in any amount seems a stroke of luck. In the end, its brevity is just another factor which magnifies the album's essential allure.

Along with producing a distinct musical blend which showcases accessibility as much as virtuosity, Brock, Lanzetti and Ogawa have all gleaned how to play well in a group from their tenure together as "Pups," but playing well in a small group with such unique instrumentation is something else altogether. It makes Drawing Songs something to savor all the more.