A special collaborative performance between NOTIFY, Ireland's experimental virtuosos of traditional music, and America's Mark Lettieri Trio of three time Grammy award winning jazz super-group Snarky Puppy will take place at Monroe's Live on Thursday November 16.
NOTIFY have been described by the New York Echo as "Forward looking...stylistically adventuresome... cinematic in scope".
At the crossroads of traditional Irish music and ambient electronica, Notify breathes new life into Irish music and song, with "a musical tapestry that ranges from soft melodies to crashing crescendos". Centred around the wizardry of concertina player and electronic sound designer Pádraig Rynne, the band members deliver an evocative repertoire of original melody compositions produced with sensitive electronic overlays and inventive arrangements. NOTIFY’s 2013 debut CD release was voted as one of the top five albums of 2014 by The Irish Times.
"Rynne forms NOTIFY into a raffish, lateral-thinking, delight. 1980s funk intersects with freewheeling improv to often startling effect, with the concertina proving its mettle as an able dealer in a world where groove is king.” Irish Times
"[Rynne] has flown his concertina square into a world of progressive rock, built around traditional [and on occasion not so traditional] Irish dance rhythms. The music he comes back with is innovative, modern and exciting to listen to.” Irish Echo
"Ambient melodies, traditional compositions and groovy beats with layers of electronic sounds. This is Pádraig and Co at their experimental best.” Trad Connect
The Mark Lettieri Trio is an instrumental jazz-rock-fusion ensemble led by three-time Grammy award-winning guitarist and composer, Mark Lettieri. Notable for being a longtime member of jazz super-group Snarky Puppy, Lettieri formed his trio as a live outlet for his guitar-based material that spans his three albums.
Lettieri’s most recent release, Spark and Echo (2016, Ropeadope Records ), is the latest continuation of Lettieri’s evolution as an artist. Following 2011’s Knows and 2013’s Futurefun EP, the compositions on Spark and Echo display his eclectic melding of genres, tones, and virtuosic technique with cinematic charge. The album reached #2 on iTunes’ Jazz Chart, and #11 on Billboard’s Jazz Albums Chart, thanks to rapidly growing international recognition among fans of instrumental guitar music, coupled with his vibrant social media presence.
Serving as Spark and Echo’s core rhythm section – and rounding out Lettieri’s live trio - are two stalwarts of Dallas, Texas’, jazz and groove scene: drummer Jason “JT” Thomas and bassist Wes Stephenson. Thomas, a fellow Snarky Puppy player, is a veteran session drummer whose résumé includes Marcus Miller, D’Angelo, and as a member of Roy Hargrove’s legendary RH Factor band. Stephenson, a respected composer in his own right, is the leader of the fusion group the Funky Knuckles, signed to Snarky Puppy’s GroundUP record label.
When the trio hit the stage, Lettieri’s songs take on an intended deeper dimension. With Thomas and Stephenson providing the rock solid groove, and Lettieri the melodic and harmonic navigator, the trio push and pull upon each other with ebullient elasticity and extended improvisation. Yet they always remain honed in on the music’s solid hooks and compositional anchor points. Each instrument has an equal role to play in the larger matrix, and the chemistry of these three musicians is world-class.
Doors open at 9pm with tickets priced at €15 (plus booking fee ) from: www.monroes.ie and www.ticketmaster.ie
