(Note: since we wrote this piece our second album, The Untold Story Of, has finally come out — we break it down track by track here. No more spoilers — go give it a listen!)
Even though the idea for the band was born in the summer of 2019, we like to think Extra Sauce’s real birthday is 13 February: the day we first sat down and talked about the project for real. Back then we were four, but we already knew that line-up was going to grow.
This year our second album comes out — the third release, if you count our first EP too. Six years have already gone by. No spoilers, but we’re pretty sure you’ll like it: as always, it’s a weave of everything we love, from jazz and rock to fusion, funk and even electronic music.
So, to celebrate these six years, why not tell you where we come from? If you’ve heard Extravaganza and you’re after a similar feeling, this is the most honest list we can give you: five fusion bands without which Extra Sauce wouldn’t sound the way it does.
1. Marcus Miller
When Marcus Miller released Afrodeezia, he brought it to Umbria Jazz. Legend has it that — even though we didn’t know each other yet — every one of us was in the crowd that night. One of the most influential bass players in history, and someone who left a permanent mark on both our taste and our sound: the way he makes the bass sing — surgical slap, deep groove, arrangements built like a funk orchestra — is a lesson we’re still studying.
2. Snarky Puppy
There’s no need to explain how much Snarky Puppy shaped this band — and not only musically, but organizationally too. Watching how a group that large moves and works gave us the push we needed to tell ourselves: it can be done. Their crossroads of jazz harmony, funk groove and large-ensemble interplay is exactly the territory we love to live in.
3. Huntertones
Huntertones are a force of nature. Catchy themes, groove for days, and tunes that cross genres without a hint of fear. From their records we learned a huge amount about interplay — and about how a horn section can become the melodic heart of a song, not just background color.
4. Yellowjackets
Saying “fusion” without mentioning Yellowjackets is almost blasphemy. Active since the early 1980s and carrying a handful of Grammys, they’re living proof that this genre can age beautifully: record after record they’ve kept reinventing themselves without ever losing their identity. Their writing is a little school of composition. From them we took an idea we’ve carried ever since: you can be sophisticated and direct at the same time, and a complex instrumental tune can still move you on the very first listen.
5. Lydian Collective
Lydian Collective have exactly one flaw: they’ve released far too little music. Their style, carried by the piano as the lead instrument, is groovy and gripping from every angle. They pull off sky-high energy with just a few instruments and flawless arrangements — not a note too many. It’s a lesson in restraint we try to remember every time we sit down to write.
We could go on for hours: after all there are eight of us, each with different listening habits — and that’s exactly one of our strengths. But these five names are ones we all recognize ourselves in.
If our tunes remind you of these or other sounds, put on Extravaganza or our EP Somewhere and tell us what you hear: we’re always happy to talk music with people who share the passion. And if you think our sound might click with someone you know, the best birthday gift is a simple one — share our music.
Thanks for being here. The best is yet to come.