Led by bassist, composer and producer Michael League, Snarky Puppy is a soul/funk collective, who although new to me actually formed in 2004. They’ve had numerous releases, all of which have been instrumental but on Family Dinner they have enlisted the assistance of top notch vocalists to create some outstanding music. The set was recorded and filmed live at Jefferson Center, Roanoke, VA in front of a select audience and this package not only includes the album but also a DVD of the performance. Free Your Dreams kicks off proceedings, a tasty organic soul groove featuring Chantae Cann before touching on other solid moments such as the moody Deep, fronted by N’Dambi and the playful Latin jazz dancer Amour T’es La? with Magda Giannikou. Lalah Hathaway revisits Brenda Russell’s Something, a song which she initially covered on her debut album back in 1990, and boy does she rip it up on this new version, performing vocal acrobatics that are quite simply mind blowing. This is soul with a capital S and deserves to be massive.
