Event

Amendola vs. Blades

Bay Area Jazz masters, Scott Amendola and Wil Blades, team up for an amazing night of jazz at Awaken Cafe.

For Scott Amendola, the drum kit isn't so much an instrument as a musical portal. As an ambitious composer, savvy bandleader 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 Jeff Parker, Nels Cline and Charlie Hunter, Hammond B-3 organist Wil Blades, ROVA saxophonist Larry Ochs, and Tin Hat clarinetist Ben Goldberg, players who have each forged a singular path within and beyond the realm of jazz. (www.scottamendola.com)

From cookin' with Blues legend John Lee Hooker, organ summits with B-3 master Dr. Lonnie Smith, television and radio appearances, young Wil Blades is gaining critical acclaim and international recognition. Blades, a native Chicagoan, has become the San Francisco Bay Area's first call organist and is rapidly gaining momentum throughout the country. In 2007 and 2008, he was named in the Downbeat critics poll under "Rising Star" for organ. For the past several years, Wil has been wowing Bay Area audiences with groups such as "O.G.D.," "Motherbug", "Amendola Vs. Blades", "Steppin'." In addition to performing with legendary artists such as John Lee Hooker and Dr. Lonnie Smith, Wil has performed and recorded with Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad, Joe Louis Walker, Don Braden, Donald Harrison, Karl Denson, Will Bernard, Scott Amendola, Charlie Hunter, Stanton Moore, Betty Joplin, Eddie Marshall, Herbie Lewis, and many others. (www.wilblades.com)