Our friends from In Time podcast, Ameer Khan & Joe Marlow, discuss the creative process, techniques, and culture in music production. They have graced Soundbrenner's blog with written versions of their insightful interview sessions with respected musicians such as Mark Holcomb, Adam Neely, DOMi & JD Beck.
In this episode, Mark Lettieri, known for his work with jazz group Snarky Puppy, dialed in with In Time hosts. Guitarist, composer, producer, and instructor based in Fort Worth, Texas, he is also known for his work with The Fearless Flyers, Cory Wong and Joe Dart, and Erykah Badu. He has even collaborated with comedians like Dave Chappelle.
His recent recordings have landed on tracks by David Crosby, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Adam Levine, Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, Tori Kelly, Ledisi, Tamela Mann, Eric Roberson, Lecrae, Lupe Fiasco, Keyshia Cole, Xzibit. As well as numerous radio and television jingles.
We started off our conversation quite light, talking about current music we’re listening to, Mark Lettieri Jazz Snarky Puppy, how lockdown was going (podcast recorded in April 2020), and the philosophy behind songwriting. As the relationship matured, we started advancing onto more musical discussions. On the topic of finding your sound as a musician, Mark gave us this golden nugget:
“Well, I’m still trying to totally figure that out. I definitely hear a lot of my influences in my own playing and songwriting. I think it’s a matter of maintaining a level of honesty with yourself.”
“You have to ask yourself the question: ‘What I’m doing right now. The playing, the writing...is there enough of me in this and not somebody else?”
Songwriting philosophy takes a different form and perspective from one musician to another. Mark Lettieri Jazz Snarky Puppy gave us some insight into their take on it, their aspirations for originality, and what draws them to other people's music.
It was a huge eye-opener, giving us a practice philosophy for approaching music that reflects your inspiration without completely emulating them. He later added to that point:
“The other thing for me, I noticed...any time I would transcribe parts, solos, or whatever. I might learn something note for note, and then I would forget it. Then just do my own thing.”
“You’ve taken it in, you’ve soaked in what’s important about it, then you let it go.”
This reinforces Mark Lettieri Jazz Snarky Puppy's playing in your subconscious rather than in active focus. Your own playing should be the dominant force. Add in inflections from the musicians who inspire you.
Mark left us scratching our heads with his final twist before he went on to enjoy his morning bacon:
“Here’s a good question, if your favorite guitar player asked you to come sit in with them tomorrow. Could you play and have a musical conversation with them without sounding like them?”
Where most musicians could only ever dream of playing with their musical heroes like Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy, there’s always a possibility it could be a reality. However, playing in context with another person is when you put the practice into purpose. It’s a real question we should ask ourselves: can we play with our inspirations, but not make it sound like we’re a carbon copy of them?
Thank you for reading this excerpt of the episode. Mark Lettieri Jazz Snarky Puppy is essentially our square one to this season’s podcast. He helped us achieve great success by responding to a spontaneous Instagram message we sent on a whim.
Follow @InTimeUK for all clips & episode information. Full episodes (& mirror links) available on https://www.InTimePodcast.com. You can listen to them on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.
