Philip Lassiter

Multi-faceted, multi-instrumentalist bandleader Philip Lassiter has been knee-deep in the funk since his days as trumpeter and horn arranger in Prince’s New Power Generation. Born in Mobile, Alabama, the son of a Pentecostal preacher, he gravitated to the thriving Dallas music scene, where he came under the wing of mentors keyboardists Bernard Wright, Bobby Sparks and saxophonist Keith Anderson. He also connected in Dallas with Snarky Puppy bassist and founder, Michael League. Lassiter then moved to Los Angeles, where he formed Philthy, a 14-piece band he led which was inspired by the music of Prince, P-Funk and Earth, Wind & Fire. Then he moved to New York City, where he spent two years recording and performing with gospel groups, before hooking up with Prince, a life-changing gig that would last three years and result in him arranging for the 11-piece New Power Generation horns.

On his latest album, Live in Love, Lassiter mixes socio-political messaging (“Make America Love Again”) with humorous, earthy storytelling and some forays into old school funk. Along with detours into reggae, an eerie hoodoo number (“Babayaga”) and a dreamy, romantic love song, Lassiter’s latest is a triumph of deep groove, swaggering horns and soul-stirring vocal performances.

The title track also features a vocal duet between Lassiter’s wife Josje and 22x Latin Grammy-winning legend Juan Luis Guerra. “We were honored to have Juan on Live in Love,” said Lassiter. “We connected through the Prince Montreux shows that we did, which are on YouTube, and he started following me on Instagram. I’m a huge fan of his music because my wife’s from Curaćao and we listen to Juan Luis Guerra all the time down in the Caribbean. So, when he started following me, I picked my jaw up off the ground and we became friends. I asked him if he'd be a part of the project and he said ‘yes’, which is really rare; he doesn’t do a lot of collaborations.”

On board for this ride into the funkosphere are fellow musicians; keyboardist David Paich (of Toto), bassist Mono Neon (of Prince), LEOPARD label mates keyboardist Bobby Sparks, drummer Robert “Sput” Searight and Mark Lettieri (all of Snarky Puppy), saxophonist Jeff Coffin (of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones and the Dave Matthews Band), label mate organist Ricky Peterson (of David Sanborn, Prince, and George Benson), drummer Nikki Glaspie (of Beyoncé, Maceo Parker, and Dumpstaphunk) and string arranging genius Simon Novsky.

Lassiter adds that since his days with Prince he’s been back in the woodshed with his trumpet, digging deeper into jazz. “I’m getting back to my roots and studying changes again. I’m working on playing standards like ‘Cherokee’ and ‘Invitation’. I’m working on just trying to develop my language and my understanding of keys. It’s something I’m passionate about and I want to be a part of that lineage, but I want to earn it. Jazz is one of the highest art forms and it’s important to respect it and to spend time with it. If you really love it, then you will.”

With one foot firmly planted in old school funk, Lassiter confidently strides somewhere else on each of the ten tracks of Live in Love. “You hear a lot of hip hop blended with jazz nowadays and also neo-soul blended with jazz,” he said. “But, I don’t know that I’ve heard a whole lot of large ensemble neo-soul/hip-hop/jazz. That’s what we do.”

Admission - presale: seating CZK 650, standing CZK 350, at the door: seating CZK 700, standing CZK 400. There is no need to reserve a seat when purchasing a seating ticket. 

No club discounts. Thank you for understanding. 

Band website: philthyfunk.com