Few drummers in jazz have collaborated as fruitfully with era-defining guitarists as Berkeley’s Scott Amendola, who for this trio joins forces with the endlessly inventive guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist Paul Bryan to celebrate their new album. For Amendola, the drum kit isn’t so much an instrument as a musical portal. An ambitious composer, bandleader, electronics explorer and first-call accompanist, he has forged a singular path within and beyond jazz through his work with a who’s who of inventive musicians, among them Nels Cline, Charlie Hunter, Jim Campilongo, Jenny Scheinman and Bill Frisell.

He first gained international attention as the only non-guitarist in T. J. Kirk, the Grammy Award-nominated quartet, and has toured and recorded with Hunter ever since. Over three decades the New Jersey native turned Bay Area force has built a large and varied body of work, and since 2014 has served as an Associate Professor in UC Berkeley’s Jazz Program.

Guitarist Jeff Parker, a restlessly creative voice known for his work with Tortoise and a long line of genre-crossing projects, is Amendola’s foil across several of his most acclaimed recordings. Bassist Paul Bryan, a Grammy Award-winning producer best known for several albums by Aimee Mann, anchors the low end. Released November 6, 2026 on CD and vinyl by Jealous Butcher Records, their album Scott Amendola Trio PDXMMXVIII with Jeff Parker and Paul Bryan draws much of its material from Lift, Amendola’s acclaimed 2010 trio album with Parker. They bring that music to the stage in two one-hour, separately ticketed sets at 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM.

(Check organizer/venue website to confirm event details.)

Info & Tickets