ICYMI

It's been a while since the last post. 2021 kind of came and went, didn't it? Still, we managed to find some bright lights here and there.

In November, I released a project near and dear to my heart alongside bandmates Becca Stevens, Gisela João, Louis Cato, and Michael League called MIRRORS. Each of us wrote a song with one another, then we brought those songs to the group and produced them together.

You can read a bit about the music and the experience in a wonderful article written by Mariel Fechik here.

Here's the song Louis and I wrote together for the album. It's called "Weary," and Louis sings his ass off.

You can listen to rest of the MIRRORS here.

In other big news on the Snarky Puppy front, we just recorded a new album - filmed and in front of people! Like this one:

It's going to be called Empire Central, and we went back to Texas to where it all began - Dallas, TX to be exact. From seeing and performing with old friends (Cleon, Gino, and Sput, on drums) and reconnecting with old mentors (Bernard Wright!!) to the vibe and direction of the songwriting and playing, it's going to be a record that shows full circle where the band came from and where it's gone. We're all real excited about it.

While the album is in the incubator, we'll be hitting the road and putting some miles on the new tunes. And for about a month of that touring, we'll be opening for none other than Steely Dan!

Check out all of the tour dates here.

Thanks for reading! Hope you give the new music a spin, and I'll look for you out on the road somewhere.

Justin

Solo set from Berlin

Hey everyone,

Hope you all are staying healthy and doing well. A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Berlin to perform some tunes off Secret Place with some fantastic musicians as well as debut some selections from Flor Peeters: 35 Miniatures in front of an intimate live audience at Framed Berlin. The show was impeccably filmed, and the entire set is available to watch now!

Hope you enjoy, and hope to see you out there somewhere soon.

Justin

New Album

Hello everyone. Today, I'm sharing a beautiful collection of short pieces written for organ by Flor Peeters that I have arranged and adapted for synthesizers. I have always been passionate about these works, but in light of the recent murder of George Floyd and the resulting outcry of protests for justice from the Black Lives Matter movement, the pieces took on a deeper meaning, becoming a series of meditations. The artwork by øjeRum, entitled "Humanity in Ruins," only served to make me further consider our responsibility to each other and the potential results when we forget. For the month of June, any proceeds from this album will go directly to Campaign Zero, an organization working to end police violence in the United States. I hope this music can be a source of contemplation, hope, and peace for the listener. Click on the artwork above to visit my Bandcamp page where you can listen and purchase the album. Thanks for listening. J