Michael League (b. 1984)
Michael League is a 4-time GRAMMY award-winning, multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, arranger, songwriter, label owner, and bandleader based out of Catalonia, Spain. Aside from founding and leading Snarky Puppy and Bokanté, Michael has worked with and/or produced for a diverse range of artists spanning multiple genres, including David Crosby, Esperanza Spalding, Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Jacob Collier, Laura Mvula, Chris Potter, TOKiMONSTA, Susana Baca, and more. Over the course of 2021, League will produce 12 records, the first of which is his debut solo album. Usually surrounded by collaborators, this album marks a departure in that League is performing every instrument, as well as singing, on songs written alone during the COVID-19 pandemic. League’s debut album, So Many Me, is co-produced and mixed by 2-time GRAMMY award-winner, Nic Hard, and was mastered by GRAMMY award- winning engineer, Emily Lazar, whose wins and nominations include her work on Colors by Beck, Chandelier by Sia, Djesse Vol. 3 by Jacob Collier, Wasting Light by the Foo Fighters, and more.
Snarky Puppy (est. 2004)
After a decade of relentless touring and recording in all but complete obscurity, the Texas-bred/New York-based quasi-collective suddenly found itself held up by the press and public as one of the major figures in the jazz world. But as the category names for all five of the band’s Grammy® awards would indicate (Best R&B Performance in 2014, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2023), Snarky Puppy isn’t exactly a jazz band. It’s not a fusion band, and it’s definitely not a jam band. It’s probably best to take Nate Chinen of the New York Times’ advice, as stated in an online discussion about the group, to “take them for what they are, rather than judge them for what they’re not.”
Snarky Puppy is a collective of sorts with as many as 25 members in regular rotation. They each maintain busy schedules as sidemen (with such artists as Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and D’Angelo), producers (for Kirk Franklin, David Crosby, and Salif Keïta), and solo artists (many of whom are on the band’s indy label, GroundUP Music). At its core, the band represents the convergence of both black and white American music culture with various accents from around the world. Japan, Argentina, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico all have representation in the group’s membership. But more than the cultural diversity of the individual players, the defining characteristic of Snarky Puppy’s music is the joy of performing together in the perpetual push to grow creatively.
The band was formed by bassist and primary composer Michael League in 2004, starting inconspicuously enough as a group of college friends at the University of North Texas’ Jazz Studies program. Three years later, a serendipitous intersection with the Dallas gospel and R&B community in Dallas transformed the music into something funkier, more direct, and more visceral. It was at this time that the group absorbed musicians like Robert “Sput” Searight (drums), Shaun Martin (keyboards), and Bobby Sparks (keyboards), and were heavily influenced by legendary keyboardist Bernard Wright (Miles Davis, Chaka Khan, Marcus Miller).
Shofukan (2014)
Shofukan is the first product of a tactic that I now try to employ regularly in my life- a writing vacation. It was nearing the end of 2012 and I was sick of playing Binky and Whitecap 5 times per week with the band… and I’m sure that they were sick of it as well.
We’ve found great friends in the Netherlands, and the Van Nispens are no exception. I met Joris, the patriarch of the Van Nispen clan, during an unassuming interview he conducted for the Dutch bass magazine De Bassist. We ended up chatting for several hours more than were required on account of it being a really nice conversation about music, life, relationships… and pre-CBS-era Fender Precision basses. From then on, he
became a friend of ours and a reliable ally whilst in Dutchie-land.
I mentioned to him in passing that I wanted to spend my Christmas vacation away from my country, my cell phone, and civilization in general so that I could actually devote some time to composition... (continued in video)
Note by composer
Instrumentation
For Mixed Ensemble
Performer
Snarky Puppy
Trumpet: Mike "Maz" Maher
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