The New York Times: Snarky Puppy -- A House Built on Solid Funk

"...a barnstorming, groove-centric instrumental act with a rabid fan base and a blithely unplaceable style. And if the name doesn’t ring a bell, it’s probably just a matter of time.

Snarky Puppy, which won a recent Grammy and is up for another one this month, has carved out an improbably strong niche with its brand of revved-up jazz fusion. The group’s style, a convergence of high precision and whimsy, makes it a quintessential live band — even most of its studio albums were made with an audience in the room. The sessions are filmed, for release on DVD and YouTube, which is how the band’s audience ratcheted up to global scale. A D.I.Y. juggernaut, it has a new label — GroundUp, with international distribution through Universal Music Classics — that will release “Family Dinner Volume Two,” the group’s 10th album, on Friday, Feb. 12."

The ArtsDesk.com CD Review: Snarky Puppy - Family Dinner Volume Two

 

By Peter Quinn @MrPeterQuinn

Thursday, 04 February 2016

http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/cd-snarky-puppy-family-dinner-volume-two 

 

"With everything they touch seemingly transforming into artistic gold, shapeshifting US collective Snarky Puppy are currently on a roll. Following their 2014 Grammy win for Family Dinner Volume One, they’ve since chalked up ‘Best Jazz Group’ in the 2015 Downbeat Readers Poll, plus a Grammy nomination in the ‘Best Contemporary Instrumental Album’ category for last year’s Sylva. This purple patch looks set to continue with the arrival of Family Dinner Volume Two."

...

"Recorded live in New Orleans, this is an album of standouts in which the deluxe arrangements are respectful to the spirit of the original while casting them in a captivating new light. Coupled with trailblazing US guitarist Charlie Hunter, Peruvian vocalist Susana Baca paints a heart-rending picture in “Molino Moreno""

Read more...

The Stanford Daily Album Review: Snarky Puppy’s ‘Family Dinner – Volume 2′

By: Benjamin Sorensen, Music Desk Editor

Published: January 31, 2016

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2016/01/31/snarky-puppy-family-dinner-volume-2/

“Family Dinner” is both a series of films from the recording studio and a how-it’s-made documentary about the artistic process behind each song. It also weaves together a thoughtful commentary on love and the lifting power of music through talking head interviews and unplugged musical interludes. It’s undergirded by a strong sense of community and giving, as proceeds from the album benefit the New Orleans based Roots of Music project to empower underprivileged youth.

The album is also entirely focused on its guests. Snarky Puppy’s hospitality creates a platform of musical and cultural exchange by bringing together guests from all over the world, coming from as far as Sweden and Peru (bandleader Michael League even brings his recording crew to a private island in Mali when his desired guest, Salif Keita, is unable to make the trip to the New Orleans studio).

Jacob Collier performing his unreleased composition, "Don't You Know." (Photograph by Stella K.)
Jacob Collier performing his unreleased composition, “Don’t You Know.” (Photograph by Stella K.)

There’s no requisite age, either. Before launching into his tear-jerking ballad, “Somebody Home,” 74-year-old David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills & Nash) pokes fun at his fellow guest, 20-year-old Jacob Collier, by musing on what might happen to the wunderkind’s priorities “when the hormones kick in.” You see Michael League and the rest of the band laughing in the background, but Crosby, like all of the guests, is the star. 

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Snarky Puppy on The Live Music Archive (Archive.org)

Currently 76 live Snarky Puppy concert recordings are available for streaming or downloading:

https://archive.org/details/SnarkyPuppy

RIGHTS
On November 18th 2011, Michael League granted permission on behalf of Snarky Puppy to host recordings on the Live Music Archive:

That sounds great!

-Michael

 

Created on November 24, 2011

Archivist: greenone

ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS
andyjah
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mkdevo
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spyder9
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bradm
Archivist
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Brian V.
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NSL
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stevegolfer66

 

Ottawa Citizen Q and A: Michael League and the rise of Snarky Puppy

 

By Lynn Saxberg

Published: June 21, 2015

"As sad as it is to say, the Grammy helped us out a lot. We really feel every day that things are getting better. We’re making a little more money, playing to larger crowds, slightly more comfortable touring conditions. It’s kind of weird that it takes something like a Grammy for people to respect you on a large scale. Obviously winning an award doesn’t improve your band at all, it just improves the way people think of you. But we’re super grateful for all the beautiful things that have come as a result."

http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/music/q-and-a-michael-league-and-the-rise-of-snarky-puppy

 


Snarky Puppy -- "Sylva" -- Complete Set of Videos from DVD via Youtube

Snarky Puppy -- "Sylva" -- Complete Set of Videos from DVD:

1. Sinatra (Live) 3:32 |  2. Flight 6:02  |  3. Atchafalaya 6:04

WORLD "Sintra - Flight - Atchafalaya" from Snarky Puppy + Metropole Orkest's live DVD/CD - "Sylva" available for purchase at http://snarkypuppy.lnk.to/8Yz_7 http://www.snarkypuppy.com / http://www.facebook.com/snarkypuppy http://www.mo.nl / https://www.facebook.com/metropole.or...

 

4. The Curtain 15:09

 

5. Gretel (Live) 4:20

 

 

6. The Clearing 19:22



Snarky Puppy -- "We Like it Here" -- Complete Set of Videos from DVD via Youtube

Snarky Puppy -- "We Like it Here" -- Complete Set of Videos from DVD

    
1.  Shofukan 06:33

Snarky Puppy - Shofukan From the live DVD "We Like It Here" (available at http://snarkypuppy.ropeadope.com) Recorded and filmed live (free of overdubs) from October 7-10 at Kytopia Studios in Utrecht, the Netherlands, for GroundUP Music. For more information and upcoming tour dates, please visit http://groundup.ropeadope.com or http://www.snarkypuppy.com.

2.  What About Me? 06:42

 

3.  Sleeper 06:51

 

4.  Jambone 05:07

 

5.  Kite 06:12

 

 

6.  Outlier 06:45

 

7.  Tio Macaco 05:43

 

8.  Lingus 10:45





The Washington Post: DC Jazz Festival act Snarky Puppy used the forest as inspiration for new album ‘Sylva’

By: Marcus J. Moore

Published: June 11 

“The idea of recording with an orchestra was a dream I’ve always had,” League says. “It’s such a unique, homogenous sound ... I just want people to listen to something that inspires them ... I think it’s completely and utterly important to make people feel something when you create music.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2015/06/11/dc-jazz-festival-act-snarky-puppy-used-the-forest-as-inspiration-for-new-album-sylva/

 


The Guardian: Snarky Puppy/Metropole Orkest: Sylva review – refined, playful orchestral suite

By: John Fordham

Published O: Thursday 7 May 2015 13.30 EDT

Four Stars

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/07/snarky-puppy-metropole-orkest-sylva-review

"Michael League’s long-term dream has been to take a composer’s personal vision into a bigger and more cinematic soundscape without abandoning Snarky trademarks such as catchy soul-jazz horn hooks, loose improv and dancefloor funk. There are six movements, each inspired by forests around the world that have left a deep impression on League. "


Durham Herald Sun: ART OF COOL: Snarky Puppy ensemble featured at annual festival

"With Snarky Puppy, listeners get both [swing+expression]. “I think people … want to see a band challenging themselves and having fun,” said Michael League, bass player, composer and band leader. “We genuinely have a great time,” which is different from a jazz group “who look like they’re playing at a funeral,” he said."

http://www.heraldsun.com/lifestyles/entertainment/x926854919/ART-OF-COOL-Snarky-Puppy-ensemble-featured-at-annual-festival

WHAT: Snarky Puppy, performing at the Art of Cool Festival
WHEN: Saturday, April 25 11:30 p.m.
WHERE: Durham Armory, 220 Foster St.
ADMISSION: For tickets and information, visit www.aocfestival.org