Page 48 - ION Indie Magazine MayJune 2018 Issue

Alina Engibaryan recently warmed up the venue before Snarky Puppy, the engine behind her new label – GroundUP
Music. Born in Russia, she now calls New York her home and became part of the GroundUP community in her
second album effort, “We Are.”

After she won the 2015 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition, the late legend Al Jarreau was quoted, saying of
her “She is kind of like one in a million…when she sings, you can hear her heart.” At just 25-years-old, this is
remarkable feedback, to say the least. The young talent has a presence a bit understated and humble, looking
youthful as she is. But then she sings. Where does she get that soul? Is that taught? Was she born with it? Her voice
most likely wouldn’t be pegged to her in a lineup. She clearly has learned skill in jazz on top which allows her to
develop rich melodies in her original music. At first listen, I noted that her melodies were too complex to be
memorable – not a bad thing at all for my music taste. But then I found myself humming one of her songs hours
later anyway.

Her album featured several players from Snarky Puppy, as did this performance. Her melodic development works
well over the deep grooves of the group. Sax and wind man, Chris Bullock, accompanies throughout and is at his
best when he can open up and lead the way on multiple choruses with his solo work. Ms. Engibaryan also does a
fine job with some funky key work on a Fender Rhodes. She and Snarky Puppy leader Michael League interplay as
nd
if they have toured for years. On this night, both were just back from the 2 annual GroundUp Music Festival in
Miami and clearly had a lot of music left to express.