Amendola vs. Blades vs. Baptista vs. Garabedian

Tonight on Fridays Live, SFJAZZ presents Berkeley-based drummer, composer and bandleader Scott Amendola, who will be showcasing his longstanding partnership with Hammond B-3 organ star Wil Blades for an evening of greasy grooves and head-spinning musical telepathy. JazzTimes summed up their 2016 debut Greatest Hits by saying “Two people shouldn’t be allowed to have this much fun,” and the duo’s most recent Royal Potato Family album, 2019’s Everybody Wins, features appearances by Brazilian master percussionist Cyro Baptista and saxophonist Raffi Garabedian, who join them on these dates.

Masters of improvisation, these gentlemen take a composed piece of music and bring it to the outer reaches and back
East Bay Express

ABOUT THIS SHOW
Berkeley-based drummer, composer and bandleader Scott Amendola showcases his longstanding partnership with Hammond B-3 organ star Wil Blades for an evening of greasy grooves and head-spinning musical telepathy. Their most recent Royal Potato Family album, 2019’s Everybody Wins, features Brazilian master percussionist Cyro Baptista, who joins them on these dates along with tenor saxophonist Raffi Garabedian — a fellow 2023-24 Season artist who also performs in Amendola’s Sticklerphonics trio.

ABOUT SCOTT AMENDOLA
An ingenious musician who pulls a remarkable array of sounds from his drums and arsenal of electronics, Amendola has a résumé that includes collaboration with Charlie Hunter, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, and Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, singers Madeleine Peyroux and Norah Jones, and a commission for the Oakland East Bay Symphony, among dozens of others. He was a founding member of the infamous guitars-and-drums project T.J. Kirk, and recorded three Blue Note sessions with Charlie Hunter’s audacious 1990s quartet.

ABOUT WIL BLADES
A former East Bay resident now based in Los Angeles and easily one of the finest organists at work in jazz today, Wil Blades has been named as “Rising Star” in every DownBeat Critics Poll since 2006. He was described as “the future to carry on the legacy of the organ” by his mentor and organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith, and has performed with the likes of John Lee Hooker, Nicholas Payton, Stanton Moore and countless others.