Sam Reider, Mat Muntz & Scott Amendola Trio

Sam Reider: piano, accordion
Mat Muntz: bass
Scott Amendola: drums/percussion/electronics

Sam Reider, Mat Muntz, and Scott Amendola debut a new jazz trio performing original music and works by diverse composers ranging from Duke Ellington, to Django Reinhardt, Ornette Coleman, Gillian Welch and Paul Simon.

Sam Reider is a Latin Grammy-nominated pianist, accordionist, composer, and educator from San Francisco, California. His work brings together various streams of American music, from jazz and folk tunes to popular song andcontemporary composition. He has appeared as a bandleader and soloist at major festivals and venues around the world and his performances and original compositions have been featured on NPR, PBS and the BBC.

Reider has performed, recorded and collaborated with a range of artists including Jon Batiste, Jorge Glem, Sierra Hull, Laurie Lewis, Anat Cohen, Brianna Thomas, Jim Campilongo, and Paquito d’Rivera. From his genre-bending acoustic ensemble The Human Hands to his duo collaboration with Grammy-nominated Venezuelan artist Jorge Glem, Reider’s unique compositional voice and melodicism runs throughout his eclectic projects.

Mat Muntz is a bassist, composer, and bagpiper whose work fuses jazz improvisation, microtonality, and non-Western instrumentation into a dynamic, experimental sound. Known for creating music that balances intensity with emotional depth, his compositions have been praised by The Wire as “rare and rewarding... possessing astrangeness which is positively thrilling,” and The Guardian for their “wild, distorted energy.”

Mat has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Blue Note Beijing, and the Umbria Jazz Festival, while his compositional portfolio spans collaborations with cutting-edge ensembles like Yarn/Wire, Del Sol Quartet, and Wet Ink. He is also a co-leader of The Vex Collection, an experimental ensemble blending cross-cultural sounds with avant-garde techniques and newly invented instruments. Mat's debut album, Phantom Islands (2023), was nominated for a 2024 German Jazz Prize for International Debut Album.

For Scott Amendola, the drum kit isn’t so much an instrument as a musical portal. 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. His closest musical associates include guitarists Charlie Hunter, Nels Cline, and Jeff Parker, Hammond B-3 organist Wil Blades, violinist Jenny Scheinman, saxophonist Phillip Greenlief, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, bassists Trevor Dunn, and Todd Sickafoose, players who have each forged a singular path within and beyond the realm of jazz.

As a sideman, Amendola has performed and recorded with a vast, stylistically varied roster of artists, including Bill Frisell, Regina Carter, Pat Metheny, John Zorn, Mike Patton, Mondo Cane, John Scofield, Laurie Anderson, Cibo Matto, David Torn, Michael Manring, Deerhoof’s John Dieterich, Wadada Leo Smith, Bruce Cockburn, Madeleine Peyroux, Cris Williamson, Joan Osborne, Jacky Terrasson, Shweta Jhaveri, Phil Lesh, Sex Mob, Kelly Joe Phelps,Larry Klein, Johnny Griffin, Julian Priester, Pat Martino, and many others. Over a career spanning more than three decades, Amendola has forged deep ties across the country, and throughout the world.

Tickets are $25 general admission. Children under 12 are free. Advance tickets are available here, or if the show is not sold out, you may purchase your tickets at the door before the show.

Doors open one half hour before show time. We accept cash or Venmo only at the door.

The Back Room is an all-ages, BYOB (for those 21+) space, dedicated to (mostly) acoustic music of all kinds. You are welcome to bring your own food and beverages. The venue is ADA accessible. If you need more information or have any questions, please call us: #510-381-1997.

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Thank you for your support!

Please note: Although masks are no longer required, we strongly encourage their use to keep everyone safe in our intimate space.

Host or Publisher Sam Rudin