Unstoppable....is the word that �rst comes to mind when the name Snarky Puppy comes up. Under the determined leadership of bassist Michael League, this cast of seasoned perform-ers is on a musical mission to reshape the world of jazz fusion. One look at the list of credits will tell the story of their credentials - players from the top bands in a variety of genres. Their rise is a story of determination, persistence, and high caliber musicianship, but it is also a story of fun. Snarky Puppy carries a positive and upbeat outlook around the world, and fans get it. From college students to mature jazz fans, the audiences respond in kind to the Pups message of, well, FUN. At the center of the Pups is Michael League, a man with a mission who works tirelessly to not only keep the band moving upward in the challenging business of music, but continuously supports his fellow musicians in the process. With six albums under his belt, League is just get-ting started. In 2012 he founded groundUP records as an imprint of Ropeadope and released six records from acclaimed artists ranging from the jazz/pop vocalist Hildegunn Gjedrem to the down and dirty funk stars The Funky Knuckles.

Update November 2013 - Snarky Puppy’s Family Dinner Volume 1 debuts at # 1 on Itunes jazz, with four titles showing up in the top 50. Billboard debut hits at # 5, and Youtube views of the live performance net over 2.5 million views in 7 weeks. Subscribers jump by 13,000, and Face-book likes jump to 50,000. The band keeps touring, with 184 shows for the year. And in the middle of it all they stop in Utrecht Holland to record yet another live in studio album. The new record will drop on February 18, with full US and Europe tours lining up. This band is on �re.

With the release of their last two live CD/DVDs, Brooklyn-based instrumental shapeshifter Snarky Puppy has gone from an underground secret to one of the most internationally respected names in instrumen-tal music. The core of the group, which remains consistent, features Grammy Award-winners Robert "Sput" Searight on drums (God's Prop-erty, Snoop Dogg) and Shaun Martin on keys (Kirk Franklin, Erykah Badu). Led by award-winning bassist/composer Michael League, Snarky Puppy delivers raw funk and sensitive dynamics, relentless pocket and lyrical melodicism, lush harmony and soulful simplicity, and most impor-tantly, a delicate mixture of composition and improvisation.

September 2010 marked the drop of the fourth album from the critically acclaimed and ground breaking jazz fusion band, Snarky Puppy. Formed in 2004 by bassist Mike League, Snarky Puppy has grown tremendously from a bunch of kids at the University of North Texas into the powerhouses they are today. Members of Snarky Puppy have played with many big names in jazz and popular music, including Dave Brubeck, Marc Johnson, Maria Schneider, Dave Douglas, Phil Woods, Maynard Ferguson, Erykah Badu, Bill Holman, Morcheeba, Headhunters, Dave Fiuczynski (of the Screaming Headless Torsos), Clyde Stubble�eld (of James Brown and the JB's), Dick Oatts, Jimmy Cobb, Marc Johnson, Slide Hampton, Jimmy Heath, Michael Spiro, Jovino Santos Neto, Benny Golson, “Snooky” Young, and more.

On March 8th, 2013, Snarky Puppy and a host of special guests convened at the Je�erson Center in Roanoke VA. The dream, envisioned by Michael League, was to record a series of live performances in audio and video that would bring attention and bene�t to the ongoing work of the center. The Je�erson Center is a non-pro�t arts center that is revitalizing a key neighbor-hood in Roanoke with the restoration of Je�erson High Schooland the renova-tion of the Shaftman Performance Hall. the hall brings world class music to the local community through the Music Lab, providing education and recording space for local children.

As Snarky Puppy set up to record yet another live recording with the audience on the stage, special guests with an interest in supporting the project arrived. Lalah Hathaway, N'Dambi, Lucy Woodward, and Chantae Cann joined Malika Tirolien, Magda Giannikou, Shayna Steele and Tony Scherr in what was to become a legendary live session that celebrates the diversity and joy of live music. With the stunningly beautiful theater as a back-drop, the result is a masterpiece of Jazz, R&B, Gospel, and Blues music captured for the world to fully experi-ence.Snarky Puppy's Family Dinner not only captivates, but sets a standard for future events and recordings. The concept of recording live with a limited audience intimately mixed with the artists is a testament to the creativ-ity and positive energy of Snarky Puppy. Eight tracks appear on the CD, with additional tracks available on the DVD and broadcast online.

John L Walters writes: The unstoppable Snarky Puppy – led by composer/bassist Michael League – sound as if they've absorbed and reinvented almost the entire history of jazz fusion. The 'F' word is still an embarrassment (and a licence to doodle) in some quarters but League has �gured out what's good and vital about the genre, and has a band that plays his composi-tions with such energy and con�dence it's as if keyboard synthesisers had just been invented.Using three horns and a big, tight rhythm section (with guest Jason Marsalis adding righteous New Orleans grooves to a couple of numbers), League's tunes prowl the entire jazz-rock land-scape, integrating reggae, funk and Afro-Cuban rhythms with blistering ensemble passages and solos that had the crowd at Shoreditch's XOYO yelping for more.

The past two years have seen Snarky Puppy go from being an underground secret to a fast-emerging band on the international scene. Bringing a deep knowledge and respect for musical tradition, their music ranges from raw funk and soul through to lyrical melodies and lush harmonies. In the band's words this is "music to move the brain and booty."