Scott Amendola Trio

Kasey Knudsen | Alto
Mat Muntz | Bass
Scott Amendola | Drums

Putting together 3 creative forces to one end goal: dig deep, jump in the pocket, be creative, invite the audience in, and have a blast doing it. There’s a long history of saxophone bass, and drum trios. We carry that torch with the idea of bringing our vibe
to the concept. From our own compositions with a lot of improv, to groove to free playing, to some interesting cover songs, and everything in between. Hold on to your hat! It’s going to be a fun ride.

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, Pat Metheny, 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. 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.
Kasey knudsen is a San Francisco-based saxophonist, composer & educator. She has
been dubbed “one of the region’s most esteemed saxophonists” (Andrew Gilbert, San
Francisco Classical Voice, 2018) and has “quietly become one of the essential voices in
the Bay Area jazz scene” (Andrew Gilbert, East Bay Express, 2014). Knudsen was
included in a list of “10 Female Instrumentalists Who Redefine Jazz” by Alexa Peters of
Paste Magazine (2016) and voted “One of the Best Female Jazz Musicians in the East
Bay” (CBS, SF local Bay Area, 2013).
In addition to leading a number of her own projects, as a co-leader, she is involved in
several groups including the Schimscheimer Family Trio, the Holly Martins, and the
Klaxon Mutant Allstars. Knudsen collaborates frequently with many of the most unique
musical voices in the Bay Area including multiple performances across the US and
Europe with Tune-Yards, Fred Frith and the Gravity Band, the Charlie Hunter Quartet,
Erik Jekabson, the Ian Carey Quintet + 1, Ben Goldberg, the Electric Squeezeb
Orchestra, Beth Schenck, and many more.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 a strangeness
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.
Mat’s work has earned him awards from The Shed, Brooklyn Arts Council, and NYSCA,
and in 2022 he was selected for the International Gugak Workshop in Seoul, furthering
his engagement with global music traditions. He holds a BM in Jazz Bass Performance
from Manhattan School of Music (2016) and an MA in Music Composition from UC
Berkeley (2024).