Fri Dec 15 House Concert: Sam Reider & the Human Hands

[Santa Cruz House Concerts]

The final show for 2023 in the Downtown Soundz house concert series features an eclectic quintet bridging the gap between bluegrass and jazz:

                                  Friday, Dec 15  7:30 PM
          Sam Reider & the Human Hands: Modern Folk Music

Details below.  The concert will be held indoors, with masks optional.

Please stay at home if you have cold/flu symptoms, or mask if you're not sure.

Suggested donation: $30/person sliding scale.

To reserve your spot, please email <Conc...@InstantHarmony.com>.

Be sure to include the total in your party.

Upcoming shows in our series:

     Thu Jan 11:     Eloise & Co., featuring Becky Tracy & Rachel Bell: French Bal-Folk music

     Sun, Feb 11:   Corwin & Grace: traditional & original fiddle tunes & songs

     Tue, Feb 20:   Canta, Violino!, featuring Andrew Finn Magill Band: Brazilian choro

     Thu, Mar 7:     Countercurrent: contradance fiddle music

     Fri, Apr 12:      Genticorum: Québecois fiddle music & song

     Fri, May 17:     Berkeley Choro Ensemble: Brazilian choro quartet

     Fri, May 24:     Larry & Joe: Venezuelan / Appalachian fusion

Other notable events:

     Sat Dec 2, 4:30 potluck, 5:30 show  Samba Cruz featuring Pablo Riviere

         Brazilian classic bossa nova & MPB

         Whiskey Hill Farms, 371 Calabasas Rd, Watsonville  (buy tickets)

     Fri Dec 8, 7pm  Jane Rothfield & Allan Carr Mtn View House Concert

          Scottish & American traditional music

          Info/Reservations:  email <SV.house...@gmail.com>

     Sat Dec 9, 10am-noon (free)  Mr. Bidu's Circus plays Brazilian forró

          Santa Cruz Westside Farmers Market

     Sun Dec 10, 4-7pm   Hayward Contra Dance   caller: Frannie Marr

          w/Jane Rothfield, Allan Carr, Daniel Steinberg, Paul Kotapish

          Hill & Valley Club, 1808 B St, Hayward

     Sat, Dec 16,  7:30pm   A Night in Zimbabwe

          Zimbabwean Music, Dance, & Fashion, with an African Holiday market

          Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St, Santa Cruz   (buy tickets)

 

_______________________________________________________________________

          Sam Reider & the Human Hands: Modern Folk Music

                                  Friday, Dec 15  7:30 PM

      "Sam Reider, composer, musician and band leader of a compact acoustic big band,

        is for me the 21st Century’s Folk Duke Ellington."   - Northern Sky Magazine

    Sam Reider & the Human Hands are on a mission to break the boundaries

of contemporary, instrumental folk music. Irresistible melodies, fiery improvisation

and otherworldly sounds collide in what Songlines Magazine has dubbed a 

"mash-up of the the Klezmatics, Quintette du Hot Club de France & the Punch Brothers.”

   The Human Hands got their start playing regular late night sessions at well-known dives

and venues like Brooklyn’s Barbes and Sunny’s, and Manhattan’s Rockwood Music Hall.

Led by Latin GRAMMY-nominated accordionist, pianist, and composer Sam Reider, the

Human Hands features some of the brightest names in bluegrass and jazz. Since the

release of their debut record Too Hot to Sleep, Sam Reider & the Human Hands have

toured throughout the US, UK, and Europe and their concerts have aired on PBS and

the BBC.

   Sam Reider is a pianist, accordionist, composer, and educator from San Francisco.

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. From his genre-bending acoustic ensemble

The Human Hands to his duo collaboration with Grammy-nominated Venezuelan artist

Jorge Glem, Reider’s unique compositional voice and melodicism runs throughout his

eclectic projects. His 2022 solo piano record of original music Petrichor received four stars

and made the Best of 2022 in Downbeat Magazine. Reider & Glem’s album Brooklyn-Cumaná

was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk and is currently nominated for Best Instrumental Album

in the 2023 Latin GRAMMY Awards. In addition to his work as a performer, Reider is a

prolific composer and has worked with a variety of chamber ensembles and artists ranging

from the Bay Area’s Del Sol Quartet to Grammy-nominated soloist Tessa Lark.

    The concert will feature award-winning saxophonist Eddie Barbash, a longtime member

of Jon Batiste's band and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His Johnny Hodges-inflected

tone graced the Oscar and GRAMMY winning score to the Pixar film, Soul.

    Legendary bassist Mark Schatz is one of the most in-demand instrumentalists in the

acoustic music scene. He's well-known for his long-standing association with Béla Fleck and

a host of other Americana luminaries ranging from Tony Rice to John Hartford, Sarah Jarosz,

and Nickel Creek.

    Violinist Duncan Wickel hails from Asheville, North Carolina. Currently a member of beloved

folk music outfit Rising Appalachia, Duncan is a virtuoso soloist and multi-instrumentalist who got

his start in Irish music but has made his career collaborating with a range of jazz, roots and

classical artists.

    Guitarist Roy Williams is the driving pulse at the heart of the Human Hands. Hailing from

Scranton, PA, he cut his teeth playing rhythm guitar alongside famed French gypsy jazz master

Stephane Wrembel. A prolific composer and producer, Roy's original songs and compositions

can be heard on film and TV.

[Santa Cruz House Concerts]

There is still plenty of space available for this great show:

                                  Friday, Dec 15  7:30 PM
          Sam Reider & the Human Hands: Modern Folk Music

Details below.  The concert will be held indoors, with masks optional.

Please stay at home if you have cold/flu symptoms, or mask if you're not sure.

Suggested donation: $30/person sliding scale.

To reserve your spot, please email <Conc...@InstantHarmony.com>.

Be sure to include the total in your party.

Upcoming shows in our series:

     Thu Jan 11:     Eloise & Co., featuring Becky Tracy & Rachel Bell: French Bal-Folk music

     Sun, Feb 11:   Corwin & Grace: traditional & original fiddle tunes & songs

     Tue, Feb 20:   Canta, Violino!, featuring Andrew Finn Magill Band: Brazilian choro

     Thu, Mar 7:     Countercurrent: contradance fiddle music

     Fri, Apr 12:      Genticorum: Québecois fiddle music & song

     Fri, May 17:     Berkeley Choro Ensemble: Brazilian choro quartet

     Fri, May 24:     Larry & Joe: Venezuelan / Appalachian fusion

Other notable events:

[Santa Cruz House Concerts]

We're starting the 2024 in the Downtown Soundz house concert series with a terrific duo:

                                              Thursday, Jan 11  7:30 PM
     Eloise & Co., featuring Becky Tracy & Rachel Bell: French Bal Folk Music

Details below.  The concert will be held indoors, with masks optional.

Please stay at home if you have cold/flu symptoms, or mask if you're not sure.

Suggested donation: $20/person sliding scale.

To reserve your spot, please email <Conc...@InstantHarmony.com>.

Be sure to include the total in your party.

Upcoming shows in our series:

     Sun, Feb 11:   Corwin & Grace: traditional & original fiddle tunes & songs

     Tue, Feb 20:   Canta, Violino!, featuring Andrew Finn Magill Band: Brazilian choro

     Thu, Mar 7:     Countercurrent: contradance fiddle music

     Tue, Mar 26:   Dmitri Gaskin & Zoë Aqua: Klezmer, Transylvanian, Polish music

     Fri, Apr 12:      Genticorum: Québecois fiddle music & song

     Fri, May 17:     Berkeley Choro Ensemble: Brazilian choro quartet

     Fri, May 24:     Larry & Joe: Venezuelan / Appalachian fusion

 

_______________________________________________________________________

     Eloise & Co., featuring Becky Tracy & Rachel Bell: French Bal Folk Music

                                              Thursday, Jan 11  7:30 PM

   Eloise & Co. features the combined creative force of two of the country’s most sought-after

traditional musicians, fiddler Becky Tracy and accordionist Rachel Bell.  They crank out concert

and dance music with unbridled energy and soaring beauty. Originally thrown together at a gig

where Becky led the contra dance portion of the evening and Rachel led the French dance part

of the evening, they have continued to fuse these two elements into their concerts and dances,

as well as adding songs and original compositions to the mix. Their first recording, “More, Please”

was released in July of 2018. Most recently, their projects have included several exquisite music

videos set in the midst of significant Vermont landmarks and their own monthly French bal folk

series near Brattleboro, VT.

Becky Tracy: fiddle

   Becky has been called the “queen of contra dance fiddling”. She was a founding member

of the band Nightingale (with Keith Murphy and Jeremiah McLane) and for the last thirty years

has been the fiddler with the iconic contra dance band, Wild Asparagus.  She and her husband

Keith Murphy collaborate on performances and musical projects and also do a fair amount

of teaching together, holding weekly Celtic classes for the last 17 years at their local music school.

   Becky has recorded with all her bands and on other projects. Her solo album, Evergreen, has

stood the test of time, recognized for its haunting beauty, intimacy and exuberance. Most recently,

she and Keith released their first dedicated duo album, “Golden”.

Rachel Bell: accordion

   Rachel is an accordion player based in Brattleboro, VT and in demand throughout North America

and abroad for concerts, contra dances, bal folk events, English country dances, workshops,

camps, and festivals. This performer, tunesmith, and teacher draws her inspiration from Celtic,

French, English, Quebecois, and New England traditions. Rachel’s greatest love is collaboration

with other musicians, evidenced by her vibrant projects including Eloise & Co., Alchemy,

Peregrine Road, Constellation, and a duo with Andrew VanNorstrand. She published a book of

her own tunes in 2021, which has since sold over 500 copies. 

[Santa Cruz House Concerts]

We are very low on reservations for this fabulous duo!  Will you join us?