This is solo album number five for the part time Snarky Puppy guitarist, or should that be full time? Mark is a very prolific musician. As well as the eleven Snarky Puppy recordings, there are seven of his own, five with the Fearless Flyer, and a squillion other sessions he has contributed to. I do love some instrumental rock/fusion/funk tunes, and Mark’s style certainly floats my boat.
Album opener Blockheads has a touch of the Jeff Beck Wired vibes to the main groove, at least with some very cool playing from Mark. I would have bought this record just for Naptime alone. Absolutely freakin’ awesome funky groove. There is so much melody to his playing, and it’s not always about playing all the notes at the same time. This is my favourite track, it’s a beast of a tune! A massive shout out to the groove twins Jason Thomas on drums and Wes Stephenson on bass. Definitely a dynamic duo! Seuss Pants follows and the tone and feel on this slow groove is just wonderful, even when he goes through the gears. Side 1 closer is Point Iz. Another slow groove piece all about the clean tones.
Flipping over to Side 2 is Chicory, with a very understated reggae vibe. Again, I love the tone and feel, and when we click into the slow funk and the sax kicks in… soooo cool. The switch back to the reggae is just wonderful. Bubinca has a wicked groove, and I think we have switched to the Barritone on this one. The groove and tempo increases somewhat on next track Huh, man this tune slays. Superb grooves and playing, switching tones and sounds, great stuff! Ojai closes out the album and the acoustic comes out to play as well as a resonator, and they sound so clear.
There we have it, another quality album from Mr. Lettieri. I think this would be a great addition to your collection.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
