Michael League Focuses on Fretless Acoustic for “Keeping Company” with Bill Laurance
Bill Laurance and Michael League have been playing together for over 20 years in Snarky Puppy as well as other ventures. Last year they teamed up for a duo album and now they’ve followed it up with Keeping Company, which features Laurance on piano and League on oud and fretless acoustic bass.
“The album continues the concept of its highly acclaimed predecessor ‘Where You Wish You Were,’ released in 2023: influences from all around the Mediterranean between North Africa to Southern Europe, American folk and jazz come together in an atmospheric chamber music without borders,” Challenge Records says of the album. “Bill Laurance and Michael League developed the ideas for ‘Keeping Company’ during hours and hours of driving while on tour throughout Europe, playing some of the continent’s most beautiful concert halls. The songs are a direct result of living music nightly in this environment.”
Keeping Company is described as committing to a live approach with minimal overdubs. Between that fact and their duo instrumentation, the album makes for an intimate and personal set of songs that focuses on the musical identities and chemistry of the two.
Get a feel for the vibe with this studio video of “Yours”:
Keeping Company is out now on CD as well as streaming services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more.
Keeping Company Track List:
- Katerina
- You
- Yours
- Escher
- How Does It Feel
- Stonemaker
- Africa
- Clay
- Where You Wanna Go
- Trails
- Iki Keklik, Bir Kayada
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
