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Jazz Articles about Scott Amendola
The Nels Cline Singers: Share The Wealth
by Mike Jurkovic
A work of pummeling beauty, exhaustion and exhilaration await at the end of genre rogue guitarist Nels Cline's upheaval Share the Wealth, eighty minutes of magical, maniacal, free jam composition that, in perhaps a few more years down the line--if the line makes it past Election Day--we'll argue stands right up there with such and such album of equal fire and fury. Time, to which we've become too nervously accustomed, is tense, and everyone's cranked to ten or ...
Continue ReadingScott Amendola, Wil Blades: Scott Amendola Vs Wil Blades: Greatest Hits
by Angelo Leonardi
Il titolo del disco è ironico perchè il duo Blades-Amendola, pur esistendo da un decennio, non ha mai sfondato presso il grande pubblico e questo è il suo primo disco. Eppure dopo l'ascolto dell'album potreste chiedervi il perchè. Wil Blades è da anni indicato dai critici di Down Beat tra i migliori organisti emergenti (nell'ultimo Critics Poll è giunto terzo) ed il suo groove non ha niente da invidiare a quello di Jimmy Smith o Larry Young. Un ...
Continue ReadingWD-41+2: Temi Per Cinema
by Glenn Astarita
Temi Per Cinema is the follow-up to guitarist Willie Oteri and trumpeter Dave Laczko's self-produced WD-41 (2009), with the addition of lap steel dulcimer and beat jockey artist Dino J.A. Deane and drummer Scott Amendola. Collectively, the musicians have been at the forefront of new music-making, amid variable flavors and shades, bordering on the avant-garde, jazz-rock, electronica and other intertwining genres. Here, the WD-41+2 unit expands upon applications and concepts, first evidenced on the 2009 effort. At times, ...
Continue ReadingScott Amendola Trio: Lift
by Nick Millevoi
Scott Amendola is probably best known as the drummer with the Nels Cline Singers, a guitar trio with detailed compositions, high-energy improvisations, and an oft-exhibited ability to shift gears at a moment's notice. On Lift, his first album since 2005's Believe (Cryptogramophone), Amendola debuts his own take on the guitar trio format, with guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist John Shifflett. Most of his compositions follow standard jazz structures built upon mid-tempo grooves, with unique melodies that sit deep in the ...
Continue ReadingScott Amendola: Unlimited Possibilities
by Forrest Dylan Bryant
When Scott Amendola sits down at his drum kit, almost anything can happen. That's not mere hyperbole; it's a fact. From his base in Berkeley, California, Amendola provides the rhythmic drive for some of the most creative and acclaimed ensembles in the jazz avant- garde, including the Nels Cline Singers and his own Scott Amendola Band. But he's also the road drummer for the phenomenally popular singer Madeleine Peyroux. Throw in his work with Charlie Hunter and the funky quartet ...
Continue ReadingScott Amendola Band: Believe
by Michael McCaw
With instrumentation that includes up to 26 reverberating strings accompanying a drum kit, Scott Amendola's Believe has a lot of resonance. Comprised of Jenny Scheinman (violin), Nels Cline and Jeff Parker (guitars), John Shifflett (bass), and Amendola (drums, percussion and electronics); the album should stand as a high water mark for all types of music this year. Unusual instrumentation aside, Believe encompasses nine-minute ballads, alt-country leads, jazz freak out sections, and more, covering a lot of ground during its hour-plus ...
Continue ReadingCharlie Hunter Quartet: Natty Dread
by Douglas Payne
From the surprisingly successful Blue Note Cover Series comes this exceptional disc by multi-talented eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter. The 29-year old Hunter has made a thankfully unpredictable choice “covering" Bob Marley's influential and popular 1974 reggae classic Natty Dread. Hunter, heard here in a quartet with an alto, tenor sax and drums, resists the urge toward reverential readings and reggae clichés in this music. As a result, the soulful beauty of Marley's outstanding music shines through. Anyone familiar with Hunter's ...
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