Snarky Puppy’s Holy Trinity Robert “Sput” Searight, Jason “JT” Thomas, Larnell Lewis Photos by Stella K. For Culcha Vulcha, Snarky Puppy’s eleventh album and first studio effort in close to a decade, bandleader, bassist, and primary composer Michael League recruited the three drummers—plus a trio of percussionists—who’ve been collectively backing the genre-defying jazz-fusion group over the past ten years.     Culcha Vulcha listeners could be justified in expecting the drumming world’s newest testament of chops, considering each player’s reputation and credentials. Robert “Sput” Searight shattered 7/8 time with a blazing solo in “Flood,” from Snarky Puppy’s 2010 release, Tell Your Friends, and he’s held down the throne for such artists as Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, and Kendrick Lamar. Larnell Lewis, whose explosive performance on 2014’s We Like It Here arguably helped propel the Pups to fame, played double-bass-rate 16ths on a single bass drum pedal—while nonchalantly toweling off—during his 2015 […]

September 2016 Issue