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About this clip:

Bassist and composer Michael League and keyboardist Bill Laurance perform the composition “Tricks” from their 2023 duo album “Where You Wish You Were” during their concert on January 30, 2025, part of the SFJAZZ 2025-26 Season and broadcast on Fridays Live.

About this concert:

The second night of Michael League’s week as Resident Artistic Director is an intimate evening of duos by League and his longtime Snarky Puppy collaborator, keyboardist Bill Laurance. With Laurance on acoustic piano and League handling all manner of stringed instruments including fretless electric bass, the Middle Eastern oud, the Malian ngoni, they perform material from their two duo albums for the ACT Music label, 2023’s Where You Wish You Were and 2024’s Keeping Company, along with new music and a few surprises.
ABOUT MICHAEL LEAGUE:
Easily one of the most visible, prolific, and versatile bandleaders and collaborators in modern music, the 5-time GRAMMY-winning Snarky Puppy mastermind and GroundUP Records founder Michael League showcases his widely varied musical endeavors as SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director.
A Southern California native, League attended the renowned University of North Texas jazz program, where he met the core of the band that would become Snarky Puppy — a band that has built a fervent global following for their electric blend of jazz, pop, R&B, and soul.
Now based in Catalonia, Spain, he is the creator and bandleader of both Snarky Puppy and the world music group Bokanté, founder of the record label and music curation source GroundUP Music, and co-founder/artistic director of the GroundUP Music Festival.

PERSONNEL:

Michael League: acoustic bass guitar
Bill Laurance: piano