The SticklerPhonics, a new jazz trio led by drummer Scott Amendola, will make their debut at SF Jazz with four shows on September 29th and 30th. The micro brass ensemble also has a new record due to release sometime next year, according to Amendola.
Featuring tenor saxophonist Raffi Garabedian and trombonist Danny Lubin-Laden, The SticklerPhonics are sticklers when it comes to their sound, as their name suggests. With a unique stripped-down instrumentation of sax, trombone, and drums, the trio has been characterized by bandleader Scott Amendola as a “modern micro brass band,” fusing groove, jazz, funk, and more.
“It’s really different in terms of everyone’s role, because we don’t have a bassist or a chordal instrument,” Amendola told Berkeleyside. “I was a little nervous. They’re wind players, and they’ve got to be playing a lot. I told them ‘I’m here, too. You guys can take a break and rest your chops.’ I’ll be carrying certain aspects of what we’re doing. It’s a really different challenge.”
The band debuted earlier this year with an intimate show at San Francisco’s Bird & Beckett, an aptly named book and music shop where they played two sets of swinging original compositions rooted in jazz and laden with spontaneous improvisation. They subsequently played at The Mitchell Park Bowl in Palo Alto, CA; California Jazz Conservatory‘s Rendon Hall in downtown Berkeley, CA; Washington Square Park in San Francisco, CA; and most recently at Smiley’s Schooner Saloon in Bolinas, CA.
Tickets for The SticklerPhonics at SF Jazz on September 29th and 30th are on sale now. Visit Scott Amendola’s website for more information and a full list of his upcoming tour dates, including shows with Amendola Vs. Blades, his duo with organist Wil Blades.
Watch The SticklerPhonics’ debut performance at Bird & Beckett below.
The SticklerPhonics Live At Bird & Beckett – 3/4/22