Community Performance Series Welcomes Award-Winning Jazz Collective, Snarky Puppy

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Community Performance Series will wrap up its 2015-16 Guest Artist Series with Snarky Puppy on Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Hosmer Hall.

• The 2016 Snarky Puppy World Tour will come to Potsdam on May 6 for the last performance of the 2015-16 CPS Guest Artist Series.

POTSDAM, NY (04/22/2016)(readMedia)-- Community Performance Series will conclude its 2015-16 Guest Artist Series when Snarky Puppy takes the stage on Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. The performance is part of the group's 2016 World Tour.

The fusion-influenced jam band Snarky Puppy makes exploratory jazz, rock and funk that displays a delicate mixture of sophisticated composition, harmony and improvisation. Formed in Denton, Texas in 2004, and now based in Brooklyn, New York, Snarky Puppy features a wide-ranging group of nearly 40 musicians known affectionately as "The Fam." Leading the group is bassist, composer and bandleader Michael League. Comparable artists include Medeski, Martin & Wood, Brad Mehldau, Weather Report and Steely Dan.

Within the last few years, the band has won Grammys for Best R&B Performance (2014) and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (2016). Snarky Puppy has also been voted Downbeat magazine's Best Jazz Group (2015), and was named the Best New Artist and the Best Electric/Jazz-Rock/Contemporary Group/Artist by Jazz Times (2014).

"This 12-piece collective stands out with furious commitment to defying musical categories," the Los Angeles Times raved.

With a core touring unit of Michael League, Robert "Sput" Searight, Nate Werth, Larnell Lewis, Shaun Martin, Cory Henry, Justin Stanton, Bill Laurance, Bob Lanzetti, Chris McQueen, Mark Lettieri, Mike Maher and Chris Bullock, Snarky Puppy continuously pushes the group's own live performance limits.

Tickets can be purchased in-person at the CPS Box Office, located in the lobby of SUNY Potsdam's new Performing Arts Center, or by calling (315) 267-2277. Tickets can also be purchased from www.cpspotsdam.org or in-person at Brick & Mortar Music in downtown Potsdam. Discounts are available for senior citizens, all students and SUNY Potsdam faculty/staff.

For more information on the 2015-16 season and artists, visit www.cpspotsdam.org, check out CPS' Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cpspotsdam, or visit their YouTube channel to explore artist videos.

CPS is a college-community partnership presenting world-class performing artists and arts education opportunities in Northern New York. This rich mixture of programming links communities, classrooms and audiences of all ages and preserves access to the performing arts for future generations. For more information, visit www.cpspotsdam.org.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of only three arts campuses in the entire SUNY system. SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. No matter the discipline, people from all backgrounds can find their creative compass at Potsdam, with myriad arts immersion experiences available for both campus and community.

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