Elipsis

A collaboration between Snarky Puppy bassist Michael League, Mexican drummer Antonio Sanchez, and Cuban conguero/vocalist Pedro Martinez, 2026s Elipsis showcases the trios vibrant, boundary-pushing interplay. All three, based in New York City since the 2010s, initially came together for an adventurous performance at the 2018 North Sea Jazz Festival. Here, they build upon that sets kinetic energy, crafting songs that weave together all of their varied jazz, rock, Latin, and Afro-Cuban influences. Unusually, the album was constructed with some studio wizardry with both Sanchez and Martinez improvising together in Manhattan and League observing remotely, before reworking the tracks from his studio in Catalonia, Spain. Consequently, there is an artful blend of live and studio construction to cuts like "Obbakoso," "Caminando," and "Mi Tambor," where swirling percussion grooves and vocal chants are intertwined with humming synths, electronics, and wiry guitar riffs. There are also more ambient moments, like "Variant," where Leagues dreamy, 80s synths are colored at the edges by tropical percussion accents. Despite the disparate sounds at play, Elipsis holds together nicely as a sonically collage-like introduction to the trio. ~ Matt Collar