Also along for the funky ride of Mustard n’Onions is a who’s who of groove-music greats. Most moving is the presence of R&B/jazz hero Bernard Wright (1963-2022), whose performances on three tracks would be some of his final recorded appearances. Other guests on Mustard n’Onions include Karl Denson, founding Robert Glasper Experiment member Casey Benjamin, Snarky Puppy standouts Mark Lettieri and Jay Jennings, pedal-steel luminary Travis Toy, electric-bass GOAT Marcus Miller, and the group’s visionary bass player MonoNeon, who co-wrote the first single “Bad Knees.”
Well over a decade ago, Sput and Werth found themselves gigging together in the Texas-rooted fusion powerhouse Snarky Puppy — Werth on his creatively, globally curated percussion setup, and Sput on keys and, later, drums. What developed was a great mutual respect and a musical kinship between the two that bordered on telepathy. At a certain point during their ceaseless tour schedule, Sput’s nightly improvised solo began to signify a new pathway. “I got bored taking drum solos,” Sput says, “so I asked Nate to join me. It was like we were finishing each other’s sentences. We did it so well to where fans started coming up and asking, ‘What was the name of that song you and the percussion player were quoting?’” An idea for a beat CD was hatched, which quickly flowered into Ghost-Note — a group that would function less as a “collective” à la Snarky Puppy and more as a dedicated squad.
Mustard n’Onions presents a story of the ensemble maturing and solidifying and finding their identity. On the band’s freewheeling 2018 release, Swagism, the lineup was still developing and, as Sput explains, “We didn’t have a sound; we didn’t know what we were gonna sound like.” The music on Mustard n’Onions, he says, reflects the firmed-up character of a unit whose “camaraderie and chemistry” have accrued over countless gigs, and nearly every band member has at least one writing credit. Sput remains Ghost-Note’s primary writer and de facto musical director, but he’s now shaping his music for and with his bandmates.
Mustard n’Onions is out April 19th via Mack Avenue Music Group/Artistry Music.
Tracklisting:
- JB’s Out! (Do It Babay) feat. Mackenzie
- Move With a Purpose feat. Karl Denson
- Where’s Danny?
- Origins feat. Keith Anderson
- PoundCake feat. Casey Benjamin
- Phatbacc
- Grandma’s Curtains feat. Eric Gales
- Revival Island feat. Travis Toy & Mark Lettieri
- Yellow Dan feat. Marcus Miller
- Bad Knees
- Synesthesia
- Slim Goodie
- Mustard n’Onions feat. Jay Jennings
- Origins Reprise
- Nard’s Right feat. Bernard Wright
Tour Dates:
- April 5 - Resonate Festival - Suwanee, FL
- April 7 - Jazz in the Park - Houston, TX
- April 14 - First Ward Park - Charlotte, NC
- May 10 - Thunderbird - Pittsburgh, PA
- May 11 - Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
- May 12 - Rochester Lilac Festival - Rochester, NY
- May 14 - El Club - Detroit, MI
- May 15 - Bell's - Kalamazoo, MI
- May 16 - Chop Shop - Chicago, IL
- May 17 - Dakota - Minneapolis, MN
- June 15 - Juneteenth Celebration - Ft. Worth, TX
- June 28 - Winstons - San Diego, CA
- June 29 - Pappy + Harriet's - Pioneertown, CA
- June 30 - Lodge Room - Los Angeles, CA
- July 4 - Moe's Alley - Santa Cruz, CA
- July 6-7 - High Sierra Music Festival - Quincy, CA
- July 9 - Cornerstone - Berkeley, CA
- July 11 - Neptune Theater - Seattle, WA
- July 12 - The Get Down - Portland, OR
- July 13 - Oregon Country Fair - Veneta, OR
- July 26 - Fuji Rock Festival - Niigata, Japan
- August 2 - The Egg - Albany, NY
- August 3 - Newport Jazz Festival - Newport, RI
- August 5-7 - Blue Note - New York, NY
- August 24 - Mountain Sol Festival - Santa Cruz, CA
- August 25 - Blue Note Summer Sessions - Napa, CA
- September 1 - Detroit Jazz Festival - Detroit, MI
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