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Ghost-Note are a percussion-based
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...
, hip hop and
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...
group from
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, with a rotating membership based around founding drummer
Robert "Sput" Searight Robert "Sput" Searight (born c. 1976) is an American drummer, composer and producer best known for his work with jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy and as co-founder of the percussion-based band Ghost-Note. His background spans several genres includ ...
and founding percussionist Nate Werth, two members of the jazz band
Snarky Puppy Snarky Puppy is an American instrumental band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won four Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalis ...
. The group also includes bassist MonoNeon, keyboardist Dominique Xavier Taplin, saxophonist/flutist Michael Jelani Brooks, saxophonist/flutist Jonathan Mones, and saxophonist/flutist Sylvester Onyejiaka. Ghost-Note's two albums – ''Fortified'' and ''Swagism'' – both reached No. 1 on the
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
Jazz Chart.


Career

Robert "Sput" Searight Robert "Sput" Searight (born c. 1976) is an American drummer, composer and producer best known for his work with jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy and as co-founder of the percussion-based band Ghost-Note. His background spans several genres includ ...
founded
God's Property God's Property was a gospel choir known for its collaborations with Kirk Franklin, and other recording artists. Music career In 1992, God's Property Choir was organized and founded by Linda Ray Hall-Searight (a public school music teacher) in ...
, a
gospel choir Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
affiliated with Kirk Franklin. Nate Werth was a music student at the
University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...
and a member of
Snarky Puppy Snarky Puppy is an American instrumental band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won four Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalis ...
, then playing jam sessions around Dallas. Searight and Werth performed together with Snarky Puppy through seven albums (of nine the group recorded during that time). In 2014, Searight and Werth wanted to create another band that would focus on percussion and what they termed "conscious funk". They formed Ghost-Note and released their first album, ''Fortified'', on the Ropeadope label in October 2015, incorporating influences from jazz, hip hop and
EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
music. ''Fortified'' featured Snarky Puppy keyboardist Shaun Martin, vocalist N'Dambi and guitarist Mark Lettieri, among others. The album went to No. 1 on the
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
Jazz chart. ''Swagism'' was Ghost-Note's second album, released in April 2018 on Ropeadope. This album also went to No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz chart. It featured guitarist Raja Kassis, spoken word artist and author Prudence the Auset Sneed, saxophonist Kamasi Washington and guitarist Brandon "Taz" Neiderauer. Matt Stieg ''of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' magazine wrote that, on ''Swagism'', Searight and Werth "stretch their ensemble into all possible contortions, from CTI's disco to
D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...
's funk. It's the omnivorous diet of
J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon vari ...
come to life in big-band form."


Touring

Ghost-Note began touring in 2015. A rotating membership of musicians joined them onstage, including keyboardist Daniel Jones, xylosynth player Nick Werth, drummer Alvin Ford Jr and bassist Cody Wright. In 2018, the touring ensemble included bassist Dwayne "MonoNeon" Thomas Jr., keyboardists Xavier Taplin and Vaughn "V.Keys" Henry, guitarist Peter Knudsen, and saxophonist/flutist Jonathan Mones. The group has played the Edmonton International Jazz Festival, the London Jazz Festival, the TD Ottawa JazzFest, and the Montreal Jazz Fest. They have performed in Memphis, Chicago, San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Dallas, as well as at shows in Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.


Members

*
Robert "Sput" Searight Robert "Sput" Searight (born c. 1976) is an American drummer, composer and producer best known for his work with jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy and as co-founder of the percussion-based band Ghost-Note. His background spans several genres includ ...
- drums, keyboards * Nate Werth - percussion


Additional contributors

* AJ Brown - bass * Dywane "MonoNeon" Thomas - bass * Dominique Xavier Taplin - keyboards * Vaughn Henry - keyboards * Sylvester Onyejiaka - saxophone, flute * Jonathan Mones - saxophone, flute * Mike Jelani Brooks - saxophone, flute * Peter Knudsen - guitar * Mike Clowes - guitar * Daniel Wytannis - trombone


Discography

* ''Fortified (2015)'' * ''Swagism (2018)''


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Musical groups from Dallas American jazz ensembles from Texas Musical groups established in 2014 2014 establishments in Texas