Scott Amendola admits to feeling a little angst about his impending birthday, but instead of moping at home the indispensable Bay Area drummer decided to mark the end of his fourth decade with a high-powered musical gathering. Raised in New Jersey, he's been at the center of the Bay Area music scene since his arrival in the early 1990s, when he helped spark a populist jazz movement with 8-string guitar wizard Charlie Hunter's guitar-laden funk jazz combo T.J. Kirk.
Since then Amendola has become an acclaimed bandleader in his own right, and a creative catalyst for a panoply of improvisers. He's invited an aptly disparate cast of players to celebrate his 40th birthday on Friday at Cafe Du Nord, from his early comrade, the groovaholic Hunter, to a more recent connection, the volatile Chicago guitarist Jeff Parker (a crucial addition to the seminal post-rock band Tortoise). Among the other players featured are bassist Devin Hoff and clarinetist Ben Goldberg, who both often perform with Amendola in Plays Monk, bassist John Shifflett, and the crafty Denver-based trumpeter Ron Miles, best known for his extensive work with Bill Frisell.
“A while ago my wife was asking, 'Should we do something for your birthday?' And I kept saying, 'I don't want to talk about it,' “ Amendola says. “But Charlie is out here for a bunch of gigs, and ever since the days of his trio we have this great connection. I decided to fly Jeff Parker out, because we've been playing a lot. I'm still a little leery about the whole birthday thing, but I have a feeling as soon as I walk in and see everybody, that's going to change. Forty is an interesting age, but it's just a good excuse to get a lot of great musicians together."
Since then Amendola has become an acclaimed bandleader in his own right, and a creative catalyst for a panoply of improvisers. He's invited an aptly disparate cast of players to celebrate his 40th birthday on Friday at Cafe Du Nord, from his early comrade, the groovaholic Hunter, to a more recent connection, the volatile Chicago guitarist Jeff Parker (a crucial addition to the seminal post-rock band Tortoise). Among the other players featured are bassist Devin Hoff and clarinetist Ben Goldberg, who both often perform with Amendola in Plays Monk, bassist John Shifflett, and the crafty Denver-based trumpeter Ron Miles, best known for his extensive work with Bill Frisell.
“A while ago my wife was asking, 'Should we do something for your birthday?' And I kept saying, 'I don't want to talk about it,' “ Amendola says. “But Charlie is out here for a bunch of gigs, and ever since the days of his trio we have this great connection. I decided to fly Jeff Parker out, because we've been playing a lot. I'm still a little leery about the whole birthday thing, but I have a feeling as soon as I walk in and see everybody, that's going to change. Forty is an interesting age, but it's just a good excuse to get a lot of great musicians together."
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