Snarky Puppy is an American instrumental band led by bassist

Michael League Michael League (born April 24, 1984) is an American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the bandleader of New York-based instrumental band Snarky Puppy and the international music ensemble Bokanté. He also founded the band Fo ...

. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s. Although the band has worked with vocalists, League described Snarky Puppy as "a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals".

History

The band was formed as a 10-piece group by

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

, after his second year at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

, in 2004, “Because I was so bad,” he claimed, “I didn't place into any of the school ensembles. So Snarky Puppy was my way of getting to play.” The group has grown into an international super-band made up of "...a wide-ranging assemblage of musicians known affectionately as 'The Fam'." In more than 17 years since its founding, about 40 players have performed in "The Fam" on guitar, bass, keyboards, woodwinds, brass, strings, drums, and percussion, but six of the 10 members on the first studio album ''The Only Constant'' remain on the regular roster. Many past and present band members were students at the

. Members have performed with

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the ...

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...

Ari Hoenig Ari Hoenig (born November 13, 1973) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and educator. Educational materials Hoenig has taught and is on the faculty at New York University and The New School in New York. He gives clinics and lectures at music ...

, Roy Hargrove,

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

, Michael McDonald,

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

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and many other artists. While touring, the band has given clinics, workshops, and master classes in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and most members either lead or are primary players in other working recording bands. In 2005, League self-released the band's unofficial first album ''Live at Uncommon Ground''. Snarky Puppy's next three albums were released independently, after which ''Tell Your Friends'', ''groundUP'', ''Family Dinner: Volume One'', and ''We Like It Here'' were released on the band's GroundUP imprint on Ropeadope. The album ''We Like It Here'' was performed and recorded live in October 2013 at the artistic compound Kytopia in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, Netherlands. On January 26, 2014, Snarky Puppy and vocalist

Lalah Hathaway Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled ''Lalah Hathaway''. After releasing another album, titled '' A Moment'' (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the To ...

won a Grammy Award in the Best R&B Performance category for their rendition of the Brenda Russell song "Something" from '' Family Dinner – Volume 1''. '' Sylva'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' magazine Heatseekers Chart, the Jazz Album chart, and the Contemporary Jazz Album chart. The album won the 2016

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (previously: Best Pop Instrumental Album) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording arti ...

. The album ''

Culcha Vulcha ''Culcha Vulcha'' is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on April 29, 2016. The album includes performances by a number of musicians associated with the band and called "the Fam". The band's first studio album ...

'' (2016) won the 2017

. Friday 26 April 2019, the band released the first bonus track from ''Immigrance.'' ''Immigrance'' is the latest evolution of the band as League noted to David Browne in

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

: “We’re more into setting up nice grooves that we like and sitting with things a bit longer.” Although the band had recorded several albums with a small audience of friends, family, and guests in the studio with them, its first true "live, in-concert" album was ''Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' recorded before a sold-out crowd at the historic London venue. The album won the 2021

. A second "live, in-concert" album, "Live at GroundUP Music Festival" was released in the Spring of 2022. The album consists of a single performance from each of the GroundUP Music Festival's first four seasons, none of which had been included in the "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" album. In March 2022, the band recorded their album '' Empire Central'' at the Deep Ellum Art Company in Dallas, Texas.

Label

With the release of the album '' GroundUP'' in 2012, Snarky Puppy started its own imprint, GroundUP Music, on Ropeadope Records. It was inspired by the idea of helping lesser-known artists capitalize on Snarky Puppy's growing fanbase. In 2016, GroundUP Music left Ropeadope and partnered with Universal Music for three years of releases and is now a fully independent label. It has released albums by

, Snarky Puppy,

Becca Stevens Becca Stevens (born June 14, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who draws upon elements of jazz, chamber pop, indie rock, and folk. Early life and education Stevens was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the youngest ...

, Bokanté, Banda Magda, Alina Engibaryan,

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...

, Breastfist, Sirintip, Mark Lettieri, House of Waters, PRD Mais, Roosevelt Collier,

Forq Forq (pronounced "fork") is an American jazz fusion band from New York and Texas. History Forq was co-founded by keyboardist Henry Hey and Snarky Puppy member, bassist Michael League. The original formation of the band included guitarist Adam ...

Lucy Woodward Lucy Woodward is an English-American singer-songwriter. She has recorded for Atlantic, Verve, and GroundUP and has sung background vocals for Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Snarky Puppy, Celine Dion, Pink Martini, Gavin DeGraw, Joe Cocker, Cha ...

, The Funky Knuckles,

Michelle Willis Michelle Willis (born November 6, 1986) is a British-born, Canadian-raised singer/songwriter and keyboard player. She performs regularly as a solo artist and as a side musician with David Crosby and Becca Stevens. She has also worked with Iggy & T ...

Cory Henry Cory Alexander Henry (born February 27, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, organist, and record producer. A former member of Snarky Puppy, Henry launched his solo artist career in 2018 with ''Art of Love'', his first independent ...

, Justin Stanton,

Bill Laurance Bill Laurance (born 2 April 1981) is an English composer, producer, and multi-instrumental musician. Laurance is a member of jazz fusion and funk band Snarky Puppy, as well as founder and CEO of London-based record label Flint Music. Bio ...

, and Maz.

GroundUP Music Festival

In 2017, the GroundUP Music Festival, also known as GUMFest, debuted within the grounds of the North Beach Band Shell in North Beach, Miami. The first GroundUP Music Festival was initiated by Andy Hurwitz, directed by Paul Lehr, and artistically directed by

. The festival features performances by Snarky Puppy all three nights, with a line-up curated by League that has featured Michael McDonald, Cecile McLorin Salvant,

, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones,

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Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 6, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger with a career that bridges several different musical and artistic genres, mostly centered on jazz. To date, Glasper has won fou ...

, Knower,

Concha Buika María Concepción Balboa Buika (born 11 May 1972), known as Concha Buika or Buika, is a Spanish singer. Her album ''Niña de Fuego'' was nominated for the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year and ''La Noche Más Larga'' was nominated ...

, C4 Trio,

Pedrito Martinez Pedrito Martinez is a Cuban percussionist, drummer, singer, dancer, bandleader, songwriter, composer, and educator. He was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He is a Cuban Conguero performing classic Cuban Rumbas, Afro-Cuban folkloric and religio ...

Jojo Mayer Sergé "Jojo" Mayer (born 18 January 1963) is a Swiss virtuoso drummer born in Zürich and currently residing in New York City. Mayer is the son of touring musician and bass player Vali Mayer and the brother of actress Delia Mayer. He began his ...

+ Nerve,

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's Beat Music,

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's Mad Skillet, Charlie Hunter Trio, Laura Mvula, Eliades Ochoa,

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Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman ...

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed ...

, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Maro, and

Brian Blade Brian Blade (born July 25, 1970) is an American jazz drummer, composer, session musician, and singer-songwriter. Early life Blade was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. The first music he experienced was gospel and songs of praise at ...

and the Fellowship Band as well as the full GroundUP Music roster, among others. Through February 2020 (and prior to the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

), GroundUP Music Festival, Miami, had become an annual event.

Band members

Snarky Puppy is sometimes referred to as a "collective." The band's current roster boasts about 19 members, and well over 40 musicians have performed with the group over the years and through the group's 14 albums. Michael League explains that, in the early days of the original 10-piece band, if someone got an opportunity to earn more money than for the band's gig, "...we'd get a substitute and if the substitute played well, then it felt like, 'Well, they learned the music and played great, what a waste for them to learn all that for one gig...' so we would kind of just keep them in the Rolodex, so to speak, and rotate them in and out. Then it became a thing where we started touring so much that guys couldn't do all the dates, or didn't want to, or whatever." When people came in, the differences in their playing would influence all those on the date. "That would change the way that they played the music. And then even when that new person left, that memory of that new relationship with the music would remain. So really we just kept building on the personalities of the new people that would come in, brick by brick. ...in general, the guys understand what the band is– a rotating cast... But I don't really think of Snarky Puppy as a collective. It's just a large band and sometimes people aren't there. It doesn't feel like a revolving door, it doesn't feel anonymous at all. The guys who have played gigs with us the least have still played several hundred gigs. That's more than most people play with their own bands. So it's very much a tight, familial unit. Everyone feels very, very close and very essential, also." Members listed on the notes of album ''

Immigrance ''Immigrance'' is the thirteenth album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy. It was released on March 15, 2019 and debuted at #2 on the ''Billboard'' Jazz Albums chart in the United States. Track listing ''Source'' Personnel Adapted from ...

'' (2019): *

– bass guitar, oud, percussion * Jay Jennings – trumpet, flugelhorn * Mike Maher – trumpet, flugelhorn * Chris Bullock – tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute, bansuri, percussion * Bob Reynolds – tenor saxophone *

Zach Brock Zach Brock (born August 2, 1974) is an American jazz violinist and composer. He has been a member of Snarky Puppy since 2007 and has worked with Stanley Clarke, Phil Markowitz, and Dave Liebman, as well as leading his own groups. Early life Broc ...

– violin *

– piano, keyboards *

Shaun Martin Shaun Martin is an American composer, arranger, producer, and multi-instrumental musician. Martin is a member of the jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy, as well as music director for Gospel music star Kirk Franklin, and former Minister of Music at Dal ...

– keyboards * Bobby Sparks II – keyboards * Justin Stanton – keyboards, trumpet * Bob Lanzetti – guitars *

Mark Lettieri Mark Lettieri (born c. 1984) is an American guitarist, composer and producer. He is a member of the jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy, funk band The Fearless Flyers, and also performs with his quartet, the Mark Lettieri Group. His background spans ...

– guitars * Chris McQueen – guitars *

Larnell Lewis Larnell Lewis (born March 22, 1984) is a Canadian drummer, composer, producer, and educator. He is most well known for playing drums with the Brooklyn-based jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy. Biography Born in Toronto, Ontario, Lewis started playin ...

– drums *

Jamison Ross Jamison Ross is an American jazz drummer and vocalist. He is the winner of the 2012 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition. Ross released his debut album ''Jamison'' on Concord Jazz on June 23, 2015. His sophomore album, ''All ...

– drums * Jason "JT" Thomas – drums * – percussion * Nate Werth – percussion * Marcelo Woloski – percussion

Awards and honors

* 2013

Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

, "Something" * 2013 Best Electric/Jazz-Rock/Contemporary Group/Artist, ''JazzTimes'' Readers' Poll * 2013 Best New Artist, ''JazzTimes'' Readers' Poll * 2015 Best Electric/Jazz-Rock/Contemporary Group/Artist, ''JazzTimes'' Critic' Poll * 2015

, '' Sylva'' * 2015 Jazz Group of the Year, ''DownBeat'' Readers' Poll * 2016 Jazz Group of the Year, ''DownBeat'' Readers' Poll * 2016 Best Electric/Jazz-Rock/Contemporary Group/Artist, ''JazzTimes'' Readers' Poll * 2016 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, ''

'' * 2017 Best Electric/Jazz-Rock/Contemporary Group/Artist, ''JazzTimes'' Readers' Poll * 2017 Jazz Group of the Year, ''DownBeat'' Readers' Poll * 2018 Best Electric/Jazz-Rock/Contemporary Group/Artist, ''JazzTimes'' Readers' Poll * 2019 Jazz Group of the Year, ''DownBeat'' Readers' Poll * 2021 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, '' Live At The Royal Albert Hall'' \

Discography

* ''Live at Uncommon Ground'' (self-release, 2005) - live * ''

The Only Constant ''The Only Constant'' is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released in 2006. Track listing Personnel ''Source:'' * Michael League – bass guitar, double bass * Jay Jennings – trumpet, flugelhorn * Sara Jacovino � ...

'' (Sitmom, 2006) * ''

The World Is Getting Smaller ''The World is Getting Smaller'' is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released in 2007. Track listing All songs composed and arranged by Michael League, except Thorn/Briar (Brian Donohoe) and Fair Play (Chris McQueen) ...

'' (Sitmom, 2007) * ''

Bring Us the Bright ''Bring Us the Bright'' is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released in 2008. Track listing Personnel ''Source:'' * Michael League – bass guitar, double bass, vocals * Mike Maher – trumpet, vocals * Sara Jacovi ...

'' (Sitmom, 2008) * '' Tell Your Friends'' ( Ropeadope, 2010) – recorded in 2009 * '' groundUP'' (GroundUP, 2012) - live * ''

Amkeni ''Amkeni'' is an album by Burundian singer-songwriter Bukuru Celestin and the jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released in 2013. It is the first of two cooperative albums by Snarky Puppy and other performers that were recorded at the Jef ...

'' with Bukuru Celestin (Ropeadope, 2013) * '' Family Dinner – Volume 1'' (Ropeadope, 2013) * '' We Like It Here'' (Ropeadope, 2014) – live recorded in 2013 * '' Sylva'' with Metropole Orkest (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

, 2015) – live recorded in 2014 * ''

Family Dinner – Volume 2 ''Family Dinner – Volume 2'' is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on February 12, 2016. Track listing All songs arranged by Michael League. Bonus DVD and digital download tracks Personnel * Michael Leag ...

'' (GroundUP, Universal Music Classics, 2016) – live recorded in 2015 * ''

'' (GroundUP, 2016) * ''

'' (GroundUP, 2019) * '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' (GroundUP, 2020) CD– live recorded in 2019 * ''Live at GroundUP Music Festival'' (GroundUP/Spotify, 2022) – live * '' Empire Central'' (GroundUP, 2022) CD

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snarky Puppy American jazz ensembles from Texas Grammy Award winners Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups from Denton, Texas Musical groups from Brooklyn Jazz fusion ensembles Jazz musicians from Texas GroundUPmusic artists Ropeadope Records artists Impulse! Records artists Jazz musicians from New York (state)