Video 1: “Coyoacan” by Sam Reider and the Human Hands
This piece was inspired by a trip to “Coyoacan,” the beautiful neighborhood in Mexico City where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera made their home—brightly painted houses, a bustling marketplace, and the overlapping melodies of out-of-tune wooden crank organs wafting through the warm, Sunday evening air.
“Coyoacan” is the second installment in a 6-part series of videos comprising the new Human Hands EP. The audio was be released for purchase and streaming in January
Alex Hargreaves – violin
Eddie Barbash – saxophone
Dominick Leslie – mandolin
Dave Speranza – bass
Brother Roy – guitar
Video 2: “Quintet for Accordion and Strings”
Tarantella Fugue in 9/8!
In the third and final movement I wanted to pay homage to accordion folk music, so I wrote sort of a fast “tarantella” in 9/8. The movement opens with a short fugue and then follows an arch form: ABCBA
Sam Reider is an accordionist, pianist, composer and singer from Brooklyn. A jazz pianist turned folk musician, Sam has spent the last eight years redefining American roots music on the accordion. His original music draws inspiration from sources ranging from Woody Guthrie to George Gershwin to Ennio Morricone. Sam has been featured on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz” on NPR, the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, toured in seven countries overseas, and appears regularly at Jazz at Lincoln Center and major festivals nationwide.
Excerpts from his website: His work brings together various streams of American music, from jazz and folk tunes to popular song and contemporary 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, and Paquito d’Rivera. As Mark Corroto writes in All About Jazz, “Reider has a knack for writing new music that has a familiar sound. Let’s say he has an old soul encased in some sprightly fingers.”
Representing the U.S. Department of State as a musical ambassador, Sam has traveled to China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Estonia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, carrying his accordion on his back and collaborating with international artists. Folk songs and stories from these travels serve as inspiration for many of the compositions on Reider’s first record, Too Hot to Sleep (2018), which features the Human Hands, a virtuosic ensemble of acoustic musicians originally based in Brooklyn, NY described by The New York Times as “modern folk music with saxophone and accordion.” Irresistible melodies, fiery improvisation and otherworldly sounds collide in what Songlines Magazine dubbed a “mash-up of the Klezmatics, Quintette du Hot Club de France and the Punch Brothers.”
In July 2022 Reider released “Petrichor”, his first record of solo piano music. The title refers to the smell of the earth after a first rain and the eight original compositions on Petrichor form a musical reflection on Reider’s recent homecoming to San Francisco after ten years in New York City.
Cross-cultural collaboration plays a vital role in Reider’s creative practice. His most recent project, a collaboration with Venezuelan artist Jorge Glem, puts the accordion in musical conversation with the cuatro. After meeting Glem at a house party in 2016, Reider began taking the train from Brooklyn to visit Glem at his apartment in the Bronx. Over the course of several years of performing, teaching, and traveling together, they developed a strong friendship and a unique repertoire of music. Their debut record Brooklyn-Cumanà was released on Guataca Records in fall 2022 and features special guests Paquito d’Rivera and Gaby Moreno. The duo performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk in February of 2023.
Reider is a passionate and dedicated educator and a lifelong student. He has studied piano with Grammy-award winning pianist Fred Hersch, been mentored by legendary composer/conductor David Amram, and studied counterpoint and harmony with composer and Juilliard Professor Kendall Briggs. Reider holds a B.A. in American Studies from Columbia University and an M.A. in Music Composition from San Francisco State University. He is on faculty at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA where he teaches about jazz and improvisation. Whether he’s performing, teaching or composing music, Reider brings the same high level of dedication to his craft and an exuberance for sharing his love of music with the world.
See Poster for upcoming concert dates and info.
For more information: sam@samreidermusic.com
