Deep: The Baritone Sessions Volume 2

Description

Well known for his tight and aggressive rhythmic playing, whether in the service of Grammy Award-winning Snarky Puppy, the Fearless Flyers, or on his six solo albums, guitarist Mark Lettieri has found the perfect algorithm for funk. Merging the influences of 70s and 80s rhythm guitar icons like Prince and Nile Rodgers, with inspirations from James Brown, George Clinton and P-Funk, Stevie Wonder, the Brothers Johnson, Rufus & Chaka Khan, and others, the Fort Worth, Texas resident has been embedding his razor-sharp hits into the consciousness of funk lovers since he joined Snarky Puppy in 2008.
After a series of successful solo albums - Know (2011), Futurefun (2013), and Spark and Echo (2016) - Lettieri began to show an affinity for the dark depths of the baritone guitar in his popular social media video series, "Baritone Funk Thursday." This online series gave birth to his 2019 manifesto, Deep: The Baritone Sessions, a seven-track EP featuring contributions from Snarky Puppy members Bobby Sparks and Justin Stanton on keyboards and Jason "JT" Thomas on drums, as well as Funky Knuckles bassist Wes Stephenson and former Prince trumpeter Philip Lassiter. This same team is back, joined by French harmonica player Frédéric Yonnet, for Deep: The Baritone Sessions, Vol. 2, a full album that showcases the range and depth of Lettieri's funk.