We Like It Here

I discovered this band at a festival, not knowing what to expect. But their performance blew me away. Now it was been a while since i've listened to them. So this was a very pleasant surprise! Thank you to the one suggesting this album!

I submitted this. Snarky Puppy is one of my favorite bands and have seen them live twice. I probably like their album Immigrance more and someone told me they would have submitted Sylva. I thought maybe this one is easier to get into and it seems like how most fans get into the band. I thought the original list was lacking modern jazz so it made sense to submit it. I could never get into a lot of older jazz albums and find Snarky Puppy to be a lot more fun. They have such catchy melodies, incorporating many instruments, and taking inspiration from around the world. The album dips in the middle with Jambone, Kite, and Outlier, especially Kite. That is why I give it a 4.

Purely awesome jazzy riffs with funky grooves and slappy synths. I can see how a lot of people wouldn't like this, but it was basically exactly my shit. Reminds me a lot of a lyric-free Vulfpeck

Ugh..fusion? What kind of fusion is…. oh. OH. And this is live?? Finally something on the user submitted list that feels like it was something handed to me by a friend who said “this is good as hell”

I ended up enjoying this more than I had expected near the outset… noodly jazz fusion is a lot more interesting and engaging than I would have thought. Seems like there should be room on the list for something like this. I’m not familiar enough with this genre to know if this is the best of the best, but it works for me.

These guys freaking rock I saw them in Chicago in like 2015

I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

I’ve seen the name before from a local music venue I follow. Never knew what they were. Great record. Would definitely consider seeing a show.

Jazz fusion in my style. Some funk, some Latin, lots of smart trumpet and even jazz rock guitar. I like it.

A great background record that can slip into the foreground easily. I had heard a lot of Snarky Puppy previously, so it was cool to listen in one continuous shot.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Shofukan, Jambone, Tio macaco, Lingus

This was such a fun album to get. I’m a fan of Snarky Puppy and really enjoy their take on jazz/funk. The virtuosity throughout this album and the tightness of the group as they sail through tight passages and rhythmic changes is unmatched and is thrilling to listen to.

Different!

I really liked the first two tracks and then got a little bored as it went on. I’m rounding up for that first part!

Of course I fuck with Snarky Puppy. I don’t think you were allowed to do a music degree in the 2010s if you didn’t fuck with Snarky Puppy. This is a good shout for their best album - I also love its predecessor GroundUP which opens with my favourite Snarky song Thing of Gold. We Like It Here has some absolute bangers on it as well though, especially the closer Lingus which is just ridiculous. It’s a fantastic modern jazz album that is so stylish and virtuosic that it’s quite easy to forget it’s all recorded live - it just sounds so tight and expertly constructed that you think it HAS to be a compilation of the best takes, and then you occasionally hear the crowd applauding after a solo and it reminds me just how darn good these musicians are. I don’t think Snarky have a single album I would say is perfect - their music lacks that element of emotional impact or transcendence that makes some classic jazz or something like The Epic by Kamasi Washington so effective - but it’s a truly impressive outing with catchy heads and mind-bending solos by some of the most technically proficient and inventive jazz musicians of their era

This was pretty cool. I would have said this isn't my thing, but it turns out it was my thing - this morning, at least. 4/5.

I enjoyed this, it seemed well-executed though I'm not much of a judge of jazz quality. As always with heavily improvisational jazz it drifts sometimes into what feels like kinda just busy noodling, but I might just be a low brow.

Welcome to Jazz Club... Shite

I had really high expectations for this because I wanted it to sound awesome when I was stoned but it just sounded alright—except for sleeper which was great. I still really liked it as a jazz fusion album but it wasn’t mind blowing like I was hoping which is on me for being to hopeful I guess.

Skemmtilegt og hressandi, gott í bakgrunninn.

I still don't really *get* jazz(/fusion), but I fully accept that it is my issue, not a fault of any of the artists. As for this album, I thought it was cool, and enjoyed listening to it, but I would struggle to adequately explain why!

I'm into jazz fusion. great drum work by Larnell on this album.

It was alright, interesting at types, meandering and pointless at times.

3 4 for Lingus

I prefer my jazz to feel a little bit less "clean," but it's not bad.

Excellent instrumentalists, they reminded me of the music used in TV series, movies and live shows, especially from the 70's; they could fit into the score of any audiovisual product, either as incidental music or as an introduction. I don't give it more stars because it's not supposed to include only music without vocals on this list.

Funky, musically diverse, great energy. Thanks for sharing! Fave Songs: Sleeper, Shofukan, Lingus, Jambone

Nice

It's time for nouveau jazz, if you're into that.

I'm no music scholar, but jazz and funk are cool in my books. I have no ear for this at all, but in terms of modern era jazz, it seems good? There's a strong indie/electro presence here which I'm not used to hearing with jazz, which is kinda cool. Good for them, it's a vibe.

Jazz fusion. Ni fu ni fa.

Enjoyed this, but got a feeling they are one of those bands who you need to see live to truly get.

Decent modern jazz fusion

I've known about Snarky Puppy for a while but never really listened to them. I knew their vibe but never investigated. I get what they are doing but it's not for me. Jazz fusion is just a genre I find.. boring? Technically they are amazing musicians but it's just got that specific thing where I'm like "meh". I know the drummer is amazing and he learnt an entire album of material on a plane flight for one of their albums. Still it's okayish background music but ultimately doesn't get me going. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? I think so. I don't like it but they are doing something at least interesting

Big band eh

Very quirky album! Genre listed as fusion, that tracks. Some really interesting things going on here, I enjoyed the ride for sure. Happy to have been told to listen to this, a couple I really dug! Favorite tracks: Shofukan, Sleeper, Outlier. 3.5/5

Very interesting album! Like jazz and funk and some alternative and almost score type music but then every song ended with applause so did I get tricked into listening to a live album?

It was OK

Still May 11, 2025 thank u for the jazz fusion album, We Like It Here, by Snarky Puppy Wouldn't mistake it for the Phish album, but both have a way of letting virtuosity overshadow other elements of the compositions. I even had that feeling from Mahavishnu Orchestra's The Inner Mounting Flame, considered one of the very best in the genre. Then again, if they tour nearby I would pay money to see Snarky Puppy absolutely shred. *checks tour dates* Not this year...

Listened 4–5 times over 24 hours and… still conflicted. The musicianship? Undeniable. The first two tracks—What About Me? and Shofukan—landed hard with their tight grooves and rich, layered production (at times giving off Mars Volta vibes, which I dig). But as the album went on, the endless solos started to blur together. Technically dazzling, sure, but emotionally? I'm not sure it's talking to me. Maybe they're expressing something deeply felt—or maybe I'm just not wired to receive it. Still, I get why people love it. I just don’t know if I ever will quite love it myself.

When it comes to jazz fusion, there are a lot of admittedly heavy-handed shenanigans I can forgive to acts such as Mahavishnu Orchestra or Weather Report because what they were doing at the time was groundbreaking at least. But in the 2010s it becomes a little more difficult to do so. Don't get me wrong, the musicianship of Snarky Puppy is not merely solid, it is STELLAR, and reaches virtuoso levels that are even hard to comprehend. And yet for me, the awesome parts found in all those tracks are routinely mixed with quite a few questionable choices regarding arrangements, textures and rhythm patterns -- choices that unfortunately straddle the fine line between jazz fusion legacy and cheese-oriented dirges. I'm pretty sure that attending a Snarky Puppy gig must be a blast. But watching accomplished musicians do their thing on stage is not the same thing as spinning a record at home. Albums that are merely documenting live acts without evoking extra poetic and topical layers -- either through production, mood, tones or compositional skills -- don't exactly enter the category of "essential" for me. In the realm of "modern jazz", artists such as Shabaka Hutchings, James Brandon Lewis or Jaimie Branch often pull it off effortlessly. Not to mention some of the older jazz legends criminally omitted in Dimery's book. Those are the sort of genius artists I want to see appear in this users' list. 3/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 8/10 for more general purposes (5 for the musicianship + 3 for the artistry) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 14 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 26 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 47 (including this one) ---- Émile ! J'ai répondu à ton message. Regarde huit reviews au dessus ! J'essaie de checker ton éventuelle réponse bientôt.

Too heavy on the Jazz front for my liking.

Eh, it's fine – without any context (live album? soundtrack? concept album?) or introduction to the band, this reads as some nice but ultimately bland jazz that doesn't have much grit to it. Technically astounding, but even if someone juggled flaming bowling pins in front of you for an hour on end you'd still get bored because it's all the same!

I think if I was the kind of person who knew how to read music, or had a better understand music theory, I'd also be the kind of person who'd appreciate this album. Alas...

Jazz Fusion

First 4 tracks were like the deep, less fun cuts from the Pro Evo 2010 soundtrack. Last 3 tracks were better, but they ruined that goodness by applauding themselves at the end of each track. Smug gits.

Though Snarky Puppy seems to like it here, I don't really like them here. This music if much to bland and indifferent. It lacks soul, effort and inspiration. It must be awful to be a great musician, but a mediocre composer.

Ugh. Its not horrible sounding, but also its not really enjoyable. Proficiency in playing and busy-ness in music isn't enough to maintain my interest. I equate it to listening to a guitar solo without any of the music/context around it. There are a handful of guitar solos that can really stand on their own, but there far more in the "hey cool" or "this guy rips" category, but it isn't enjoyable to just listen to guitar solo after guitar solo. Was happy when it was over.

Was this jazz or a jam band? It was hard to tell at times and as the album progressed I found myself enjoying it a little less. The experimental jazz was cool for a bit to see how art can change but this wasn’t kamasai Washington levels of wild and good. 4.8/10

Yep - still not into jazz. I'm sure there's something great about this album but it's still not for me

Another albums m almost certainly put forward by a musician. Incredible technical competence and very few tunes.

It may be partly due to outside factors, but I thought that beyond the first two tracks of this 2014 jazz funk album it was self indulgent twaddle. Rating: 1.5 Playlist track: Shofukan Date listened: 27/09/24

A live album recorded over 4 days... Said and done.

Live instrumental album

I would rather listen to a classroom full of children on a windy day on the last day of term.