Vibes: Bill Laurance and Michael League

Back in the day I had the privilege of seeing Snarky Puppy Live at Love Supreme before they went interstellar. Having seen Bill Laurance solo, what a treat to see both Bill Laurance and Michael League — on stage, together! One of the most warm-hearted gigs I’ve been to, the duo performed works from their recent album ‘Where You Wish You Were’ and if you’re not there, you’ll wish you were!

Mixing up blues, jazz and folk, League and Laurance riff off each other, encouraging each to improvise and push things out there. The joy and exhilaration of their playing together was infectious, chatting equally warmly with the audience. We got to hear ‘La Marinada’; reflective and bluesy ‘Sant Esteve’ — with its thoughts of Boxing Day cannelloni; the pulsing ‘Meeting of the Mind’ and ‘Kin’ from the new album as well as D’Angelo’s ‘Voodoo’.

Moreover, there was bass guitar tapping and percussion to enjoy as Michael League had lots of fun conjuring all kinds of sounds out of it. He can even get blues from an oud. As ever, Bill Laurance’s keyboarding skills (piano) were exceptional — moving expertly between classical and jazz…and everywhere in-between.

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