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Jazz Arts Group Of Columbus Welcomes Snarky Puppy - Fri. Sept. 6

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Columbus, OH – The Jazz Arts Group's Inside Track series opens its 2013-14 season on Friday, September 6 at the historic Lincoln Theatre with the avant-garde funk jazz of the Dallas/New York City musician collective Snarky Puppy.

With the release of their live, 2-disc album/DVD Tell Your Friends (Ropeadope Records), Snarky Puppy has gone from an underground secret to one of the most internationally respected names in instrumental music. The 3-time Dallas Observer Music Award-winning group ("Best Jazz Act" 2008, 2009, 2010) has, over the last four years of touring, gained a reputation for putting on a live show unparalleled in energy, virtuosity, and musicianship. They seamlessly fuse a deep knowledge and respect for musical tradition with sonic and conceptual innovation in a way that is able to reach the most critical- or most carefree- audience.

Snarky Puppy is somewhere between a garage band and a collective, with over 25 players in regular rotation. The core of the group, which remains consistent, features Grammy Award-winners Robert “Sput" Searight on drums (God's Property, Snoop Dogg) and Shaun Martin on keys (Kirk Franklin, Erykah Badu), as well as young organ prodigy Cory Henry (Kenny Garrett, Kim Burell) and multi-instrumentalist Louis Cato (Marcus Miller, Q-Tip, George Duke). Its members are mainstays with artists like Erykah Badu, Marcus Miller, P Diddy Dirty Money, The Polyphonic Spree, Snoop Dogg, Roy Hargrove's RH Factor, Morcheeba, Tower of Power, Ari Hoenig/Adam Rogers, Justin Timberlake, Kenny Garrett, Yo-Yo Ma, Lucy Woodward, and Bilal, among many more.

The group was conceived and is held together by award-winning bassist/guitarist/composer/arranger Michael League, whose creative grass-roots approach to a tougher-than-ever industry has created a unique musical animal. It is a three-headed creature: first, and most obviously — an original music ensemble. Second — a production team and session band for individual artists. Third, and probably most importantly — Snarky Puppy is a group of musicians unanimously and enthusiastically committed to music education and community outreach. Working with groups like ROAM (Roots Of American Music) in inner city Cleveland and the Music Lab at Jefferson Center in Roanoke, as well as giving clinics at over 40 colleges, high schools, and middle schools worldwide (League is faculty at London's Institute of Contemporary Music Performance), the band has made a strong commitment to spreading a love of music and general positivity to a young generation looking for something real to hold on to. The Jazz Academy will also host a companion workshop with Snarky Puppy (Friday, September 6, 3:30 pm) prior to their performance at the Lincoln Theatre. Registration is required and available at www.jazzartsgroup.org.

Currently, Snarky Puppy is touring to prepare for their next live, in-studio album/DVD, to be recorded over 5 days this winter. The band has released 6 albums so far: Live at Uncommon Ground (2005), The Only Constant (2006), The World Is Getting Smaller (2007), Bring Us the Bright (2008), Tell Your Friends (2010), and groundUP (2012).

Advance concert tickets go on sale Monday, August 19 for $20 (general admission) and are available through the CAPA Ticket Office and through all Ticketmaster outlets. Showtime is 8:00 PM with Columbus' own DW6 (Dan White Sextet) opening the show.

The Inside Track series gives music lovers from all walks of life the chance to stretch their ears and stretch themselves at the newly restored and historic Lincoln Theatre. The revamped small-ensemble series will also feature the gypsy jazz of Hot Club of Detroit featuring the unique vocal stylings of French artist Cyrille Aimee (October 12, 2013); Atlanta-based soul band Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics (November 8, 2013); CJO all-stars Byron Stripling and Bobby Floyd in the post-holiday show “Swingin' the New Year" (December 28, 2013); Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist and film composer/actor Chris Thomas King (March 1, 2014); and the ear-bending collaboration of the New Orleans funk of the New Basics Brass Band and bluegrass of The Relentless Mules in “Brass & Grass" (April 26, 2014). Call 614-294-5200 or visit www.jazzartsgroup.org for more information.

The Inside Track music series is presented by State Auto and Sequent with ongoing support from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, The Columbus Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, and The Westin Columbus. Media support is provided by The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Alive, and WCBE 90.5 FM.

About the Jazz Arts Group:

The Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) is America's oldest not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to producing, performing and promoting jazz. JAG is the third largest performing arts organization in Columbus and consists of four focus areas: the Columbus Jazz Orchestra (CJO), one of the world's finest professional jazz orchestras; the Jazz Academy, JAG's extensive instructional programs educating both students and adults about jazz and American music; Inside Track, a jazz and blues performance series produced at the historic Lincoln Theatre and beyond; and Affiliate Musicians, a program providing employment opportunities for professional musicians.

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