The sounds of sweet jazz, intellectual fusion, dirty funk, uplifting gospel, emotional soul and blistering solos will spill from the doors of the Roux House tonight, and they’ll all be coming from the same band. Texas-based band Snarky Puppy will play the Roux House tonight at 10 p.m. as part of the “Indie Lounge Concert Series.” The series features bands from varying genres and parts of the country each Thursday night.The band, known for its instrumental music that crosses genre and culture boundaries, features a revolving cast of musicians as diverse as the sounds that come from their polished instruments.Micheal League, the band’s young bassist/composer/bandleader formed the original band four years ago in Denton, Texas. Consisting mostly of graduates of the highly esteemed jazz program at the University of North Texas, the band’s lineup has evolved over the years and fluctuates from to show to show among a number of gifted musicians from a variety of musical backgrounds.”We want the music to be a vibe and a feeling, something to wash over the audience, as opposed to something for the audience to really pay attention to,” League said. “That’s why we try to feature different people at different times but never make it feel like they are really being featured. They are serving a composition the whole time.”The current lineup features founding members League on bass and Nate Werth on percussion; Robert “Sput” Searight on drums, New York-based Bob Lanzetti on guitar; Justin Stanton on trumpet and keyboards, Chris Bullock on tenor sax and Jay Jennings on trumpet.”Most people in America don’t listen to instrumental music for fun,” League said. “It’s kind of a foreign animal to a lot of people.”Because of that, League tries to make shows as engaging for the listeners as it is for the musicians by showcasing a variety of world music that many listeners have never heard before.Live shows feature songs composed by League with improvised solos from the band’s talented musicians.”I try to leave each player with room to play what they feel and what they hear at all times,” League said. “I try to write tunes where if you just play what’s on the page. It will still sound good and the message will get across, but the personality of the song will come out through the individual players.”League said their eclectic mix of music isn’t a perfect fit for any one type of venue. Because the band brings so many styles and genres to each show, they can perform at a variety of venues with success.League said it has more to do with who shows up than in does where it takes place.”This kind of person shows up. As universal our music is, it seems a certain kind of person is attracted first,” League said. “I can’t define what kind of person that is, it’s the people that are there that dictate how successful our shows will be.”The band has played everywhere from house parties to rock clubs to coffee shops over the past four years.League said the band has played two shows in Baton Rouge before with moderate success.They have built a solid fan base in Lafayette playing at Artmosphere, a coffee shop, cafe-style venue which the band will visit tomorrow night.League said the band is looking to tour in Asia in the near future, and has been playing as a session band for several soloist.”It lets us become a different band for the day,” League said. “It makes us more versatile.”In addition to playing shows, the band does non-profit workshops for various charities and high schools.Tonight, Snarky Puppy will be joined by New Orleans rock-funk band the Revivalists. Both bands will perform all original tunes.——Contact Jack LeBlanc at [email protected]