“If Scott Amendola didn't exist, the San Francisco music scene would have to invent him.” — Derk Richardson, San Francisco Bay Guardian.
For Scott Amendola, the drum kit isn’t so much an instrument as a musical portal. An ambitious composer, savvy bandleader and capaciously creative foil for some of the world’s most inventive musicians, Amendola applies his rhythmic virtuosity to a vast array of settings. His closest musical associates include guitarists, Nels Cline, Jeff Parker, Charlie Hunter, Hammond B-3 organist Wil Blades, violinists Regina Carter and Jenny Scheinman, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, players who have each forged a singular path within and beyond the realm of jazz.
While rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area scene, Amendola has woven a dense and far-reaching web of bandstand relationships that tie him to influential artists in jazz, blues, rock and new music. A potent creative catalyst, the Berkeley-based drummer is the nexus for a disparate community of musicians stretching from Los Angeles and Seattle to Chicago and New York. Whatever the context, Amendola possesses a gift for twisting musical genres in unexpected directions.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Amendola has forged deep ties across the country, and throughout the world. As an ambitious composer, savvy bandleader, electronics explorer, first-call accompanist, and capaciously creative foil for some of the world’s most inventive musicians, Amendola applies his wide-ranging rhythmic virtuosity to a vast array of settings.
Scott’s latest project, SticklerPhonics, is Scott on drums, percussion, and electronics, plus tenor saxophone and trombone. He calls it a “modern micro brass band” which borrows from the traditions of the New Orleans brass bands, but adds his wildly creative electronic element, and compositionally goes in all kinds of directions. Check out Scott Amendola & SticklerPhonics album Technicolor Ghost Parade on Jealous Butcher Records.