Snarky Puppy

Snarky Puppy, an esteemed fusion-tinged jam band, cultivated a devoted audience through their bold interweaving of jazz, rock, and funk. Bassist Michael League guided the Texas ensemble, which surfaced in the mid-2000s and drew early attention via releases such as 2006's The Only Constant, 2010's Tell Your Friends, and 2013's Family Dinner, Vol. 1; the last of these earned the Grammy for Best R&B Performance thanks to its rendition of Brenda Russell's "Something" with vocalist Lalah Hathaway. Subsequent honors arrived with further Grammy wins for 2015's Sylva and 2016's Culcha Vulcha, the latter also claiming the top spot on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart. The group returned to the jazz charts' upper tier with 2019's Immigrance and secured a fourth Grammy for 2020's Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Their 2022 effort, Empire Central, honored their Dallas-area origins.

The musicians first assembled in 2004 in Denton, Texas, while enrolled in jazz studies at the University of North Texas. They operate as an expansive collective of players known warmly as "the Fam" and revolve around League. Their initial outing arrived as the 2005 concert recording Live at Uncommon Ground. In the ensuing years they strengthened their following through extensive touring and a series of favorably received albums that encompassed 2006's The Only Constant, 2007's The World Is Getting Smaller, 2008's Bring Us the Bright, 2010's Tell Your Friends, and 2012's groundUP. Family Dinner, Vol. 1 surfaced in 2013 and featured the Brenda Russell cover "Something" with Lalah Hathaway; the track became a hit and lifted the album across multiple digital download rankings. The performance earned Snarky Puppy and Hathaway the 2014 Grammy for Best R&B Performance. Later that year the band issued the concert album We Like It Here on Ropeadope.

After signing with Impulse!, Snarky Puppy delivered Sylva in 2015, a joint project with the Netherlands-based Metropole Orkest. Critics worldwide responded warmly, and the album captured the band's second Grammy, this time for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, at the 2016 ceremony. Two live projects followed. World Tour appeared as a 32-disc boxed set highlighting sixteen standout concerts and was offered solely via the group's website. Early 2016 also brought the audio-video package Family Dinner, Vol. 2, a documentary sequel to the initial Family Dinner project that had been taped the prior year; the release captured onstage performances with guests Charlie Hunter, Susana Baca, Salif Keita, and David Crosby, along with interview and backstage footage.

April 2016 saw the arrival of Culcha Vulcha, the band's eleventh studio album and its first purely studio effort in eight years. The record immediately topped the jazz album charts and received the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 2017 awards. League produced 2019's Immigrance, which featured the single "Xavi" and entered Billboard's Jazz Albums chart at number two. While supporting the album on the road, the musicians captured their November 14, 2019, London concert; issued the next year as Live at the Royal Albert Hall, the recording claimed the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.

Empire Central arrived in 2022 as a salute to the band's Dallas hometown. Captured across eight nights at the city's Deep Ellum Art Company before a live audience, the album drew on the jazz and funk foundations established during the members' University of North Texas years. It also documented one of the final appearances by '80s funk figure Bernard Wright, a key influence on the group, who passed away shortly after the sessions concluded. Empire Central was named Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in 2023.