Family Dinner Volume 1 (Ropeadope)
Snarky Puppy
Released September 24, 2013
JAZZ FM 20 Best Jazz Albums of the 2010s
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mCDw5JbnlFJWjDgXsLl3oBDstTncZ3lyc
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/7uveEcuLgfEecFLxABRKnO?si=bXqCvCLHRBypClVtPFS0og
About:
Snarky Puppy is a Grammy-winning instrumental fusion band from Denton, Texas led by bassist, composer and producer Michael League. Formed in Denton, Texas in 2004, the band features a collective of nearly 30 musicians, referred to as “The Fam” on their recordings and tours. The musicians perform on a variety of instruments including guitars, keyboards, saxophones, brass, percussion and strings. Many of the current and former band members were once students at the University of North Texas.
The band released their debut album “Live at Uncommon Ground” in 2005 and began touring extensively after their second album “The Only Constant” in 2006. Snarky Puppy’s first four albums were released under Sitmom Records. Their fifth album, “Tell Your Friends” was released in 2010 under Ropeadope Records.
In 2013, Snarky Puppy embarked on their biggest project yet with the “Family Dinner Volume One.” They teamed up with some of their favorite vocalists in the world for a live recording at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke, Virginia. Their Performance of the song “Something” with Lalah Hathaway has earned them a 2014 Grammy for Best R&B Performance.
Snarky Puppy’s leader, Michael League, was interviewed and written about in the 2010 book release “The New Face of Jazz: An intimate look at today’s living legends and the artists of tomorrow” by Cicily Janus. The author cites League’s self-termed music as “jafunkadansion” for its genre-bending qualities of instrumental and dance music. Cicily Janus also comments the “group Snarky Puppy is one of the most inventive in sound and funk since Maynard Ferguson’s fusion years.”
Track Listing:
1. Free Your Dreams 04:46
2. Gone Under 05:46
3. Deep 05:13
4. Amour T’es Lá? 04:22
5. Something 07:35
6. Too Hot to Last 04:44
7. Turned Away 07:22
8. I’m Not the One 05:16
Personnel:
Michael League: bass guitar, keyboard bass, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar
Mike Maher: trumpet, flugelhorn
Jay Jennings: trumpet, flugelhorn
Chris Bullock: tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinet
Bob Lanzetti: electric, acoustic and baritone guitars
Mark Lettieri: electric, acoustic and baritone guitars, bass guitar
Cory Henry: piano, keyboards
Bill Laurance: piano, keyboards
Robert “Sput” Searight: drums
Nate Werth: percussion
Katya Diaz: backing vocals
Rachella Searight: backing vocals
Chelsea West: backing vocals
Additional personnel
Chantae Cann: vocals (1)
Shayna Steele: vocals (2)
N’Dambi: vocals (3)
Magda Giannikou: vocals, accordion (4)
Lalah Hathaway: vocals (5)
Lucy Woodward: vocals (6)
Tony Scherr: vocals, guitar (7)
Malika Tirolien: vocals (8)
Recorded March 8 – 9, 2013, at Shaftman Performance Hall, Jefferson Center, Roanoke, VA
Produced by Michael League
Engineered and Mixed by Eric Hartman
Assistant Engineers: Avi Josef Gunther*, Jake Dempsey
Mastered by Scott Hull
Artwork: Emilia Canas Mendes, Michael League
Review:
With this record, Grammy-winning modern fusion group Snarky Puppy satisfied their own fans as well as appreciators of quality vocalists. With grooves from the samba-esque Amour T’es La featuring vocalist Madga Giannikou to the R&B-flavoured Free Your Dreams with Chantae Cann, there is a pretty vast sonic display of the styles and sounds that can be achieved by this super group. Lalah Hathaway’s polyphonic singing on Something even causes a few of the musicians in the band to momentarily pause their playing out of sheer amazement.
Heather Bambrick (JAZZ.FM91)
