The members of the Frost Jazz Sextet are used to their Frost School teachers giving them intensive feedback in the safety of the classroom.
But to get that kind of critique from Michael League, leader of famed jazz-funk-fusion band Snarky Puppy, in front of a live audience of strangers requires a much greater level of confidence and acceptance. But the six Frost School musicians in the live masterclass with League and other Snarky Puppy band members at the GroundUP Music Festival at the Miami Beach Bandshell on Saturday were up to the challenge – if a bit on edge.
“It was nerve-racking,” said Charlee Loyst, the sextet’s pianist and composer of “Waves,” the tune under the microscope on Saturday. Especially since Loyst, a first-year master’s student, had just started to arrange a song the group had learned recently. “To bring it here and work on it with such masters was a little intimidating.”
But Loyst, a Snarky Puppy fan, was thrilled by the opportunity. “It’s super cool that we get to work with Michael League,” said Loyst. “He’s a force to be reckoned with.”
Trombonist Pablo Muller was also excited to play for the multi-GRAMMY winning band. “Their music opens up my ears to things I’m not used to,” said Muller, also a first-year master’s student.
League praised the Frost School students’ skill and openness. “The most important thing is to be curious and humble, no matter how old or how accomplished you are,” League said, adding that the group only does these public learning sessions at GroundUP. “So having a group of people onstage who were very humble and enthusiastic made the whole process flow.”
“We all benefited greatly from music education, so it’s the right thing to do to give that back,” League continued. “We’re very passionate about it, and it’s something we’ll do as long as we play.”
The live masterclass was the first set Saturday on the eclectic, artistically-minded and community-driven annual GroundUP, which has drawn enthusiastic crowds since 2017 to the bucolic outdoor oceanside venue in North Miami Beach. GroundUP was founded by League and CEO Paul Lehr, a member of the Frost School Dean’s Advisory Committee who has enabled Frost School faculty and students to regularly participate in a festival which has presented the likes of Esmeralda Spalding and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
Close to two hundred attendees gathered under a brilliant winter sun Saturday for the Frost Jazz Sextet. Snarky Puppy’s complex, unconventional music tends to attract ardent and sophisticated listeners, and the crowd seemed riveted by the chance to listen to an in-depth session on the intricacies of music-making.
The Frost Sextet played “Waves” once for League and Snarky Puppy members Bob Reynolds, a tenor saxophonist, and violinist Zach Brock. League had the students break down the tune and put it back together step by step. His extensive comments could largely be boiled down to: listen to each other, pay attention to details, and focus on the music and the group, not yourself.
After complimenting Loyst on his song, League had drummer Sebastian Kuchczynski and bassist Andy Raineri play its basic groove. “It’s very tempting to constantly improvise against the groove,” League said. “When you focus on one simple thing, you notice the details – time, tone, cutoff, attack. The longer they play this the better it will feel, because we’ll all start to notice everything. And they’re relaxing, which is what groove is all about.” When he asked trumpeter Joe Palmer to solo, the audience applauded. “Doesn’t that sound good?” League asked. “He can play one note and it’ll stand out.”
He brought in the other sextet members one by one, asking them to listen deeply and respond to each other. “You’re slowly adding to this beautiful compost heap,” League said. “Now it’s a conversation. If you stop thinking about yourself you can hear more of what everyone else is doing, and leave space for other people to sound great. Not only does it make the music better, it also makes people want to hire you more, because you make them sound good.”
When the group played “Waves” a second time, they were tighter, clearer, more focused and engaging, leading the audience to applaud enthusiastically as League smiled. “You’re trying to take the audience on a journey, and transport them to a place where we all feel as one,” he said.
Afterwards, the Frost School students seemed to have absorbed League’s lessons.
“We saw how great the solos sounded with it being so simple,” said Raineri.
“It made us listen differently,” said Muller.
“The biggest takeaway I got today was really listening more closely to the people around me,” said Loyst. “It’s like a big puzzle and you gotta put the pieces together.”
Learning from Michael League would help him put together his musical future, Loyst said. “For young artists like us to work with someone like him gives us a lot of hope and drive to do what we want to do.”
