Bokanté - Malta Jazz Festival
Bokanté; Malika Tirolien, voice; Michael League, guitar & voice; Chris McQueen, guitar & voice; Bob Lanzetti, guitar; Roosevelt Collier, steel guitar; Jamey Haddad, percussion; Keita Ogawa, percussion; André Ferrari, percussion; An experiment conceived by Snarky Puppy founder and GroundUP Music creator Michael League (who has traded his bass in for a baritone guitar in this group), the process of formation was all but conventional. The music and some of the melodies were written by League, demoed while on tour with other bands, and then sent to Tirolien with lyrical concepts attached. Tirolien then wrote lyrics and melodies, demoing and ping-ponging the new content back to Michael. Many of the musicians had never even met until the first day of recording. By the end of the week-long session in upstate New York's legendary Dreamland Studios, the band felt abnormally cohesive. 'Unity was paramount in the formation of this group,' observed League. 'Though the ensemble is multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-generational, we all feel connected as musicians and people. And in combining our different accents I feel that there is a strangely common and poignant sound, one that can reach and relate to listeners around the world.'; Recorded on July 20, 2018 at the Malta Jazz Festival; TV Director, Amos Rozenberg (58 min)
