“I kind of changed everything for this record. The band is different and the music is stylistically different from the first album.” Alina Engibaryan – the Russian-born singer, songwriter, and keyboards player – is talking about her new album, We Are (GroundUP Music), the successor to her impressive 2016 debut Driving Down the Road. “I only had one original song on that record. This time, all except one song are mine.” Engibaryan’s chief collaborator for We Are is bassist Michael League: album producer and arranger, label head of GroundUP Music, and co–founder of the GRAMMY Award–winning collective Snarky Puppy. Another Snarky Puppy member, Mike “Maz” Maher, contributed lyrics to We Are; inventive originals like “Little Girl,” “Doesn’t Seem Real,” and “Love Song” fit seamlessly alongside Alina’s treatment of the Alec Wilder standard “I’ll Be Around.” Alina Engibaryan, says Al Jarreau, “is kind of like one in a million. There aren't many people who want to sing jazz, who have this special feel-ing for the tradition, where jazz singers have been and what they borrowed from horn players…When she sings, you can hear her heart. That is very special.” Alina comes to our stage surrounded by some of the finest musicians of their generation including tenor saxophonist Chris Potter and Snarky Puppy founder Michael League. Alina Engibaryan - voice and keyboards Chris Potter - tenor saxophone Taylor Eigsti - keyboards Michael League - bass Kendrick Scott - drums