The Amigos

This accordion-based group (yes, accordion!) is updated Americana at its best. Taking mostly folk rock then adding jazz and zydeco-cajun influences, you get music that's impossible not to stomp your feet to (or dance around in happy circles). Plus, their instrument solos pretty much shred it. Catch them at Joe's Pub on July 11th. - Huffington Post

It is no coincidence that the fine saxophonist Eddie Barbash plays New Orleans jazz with Jonathan Batiste and country music with the Amigos. Describing themselves as a "hot folk" ensemble, this energetic quartet (with guitarist Justin Poindexter, accordionist
Sam Reider and bassist Noah Garabedian ) appeals to the same dancing crowd that flocks to such neo-hot jazz groups as the Stay Human Band and the Hot Sardines. Their excellent new album, "Diner in the Sky," benefits from the production expertise of David Amram, himself a storied veteran of many a jazz-folk-classical music mashup. Besides which, it is impossible not to love a trio singing—in exquisite harmony—such lines as, "There is a hole in my boots that goes right through my soul." - Wall Street Journal

With a seal of approval from the likes of David Amram and Pete Seeger, it’s easy to see why The Amigos are one of our new favorite bands right now. Their blend of nearly every genre of American music, from blues to folk-rock to zydeco and beyond, makes the band an absolute thrill to hear on record and in person. They’ll be spending the summer on the road with the likes of Carolina Chocolate Drops and Tab Benoit, but not before coming to New York’s famed Joe’s Pub for a special performance featuring virtuoso percussionists from around the world. It’s sure to be a night that only a band like the Amigos could pull off. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here. - Elmore Magazine

Veteran jazz musician/beat poet David Amram “discovered” four young guys in Brooklyn, and the mutual admiration society they developed has paid off in fun shows which play out outside the box. The Amigos alternate their own brand of folk-rock, cajun and joie-de-vivre music with Amram’s simple-sounding penny whistle and virtuoso jazz piano stylings, and keep audiences wondering, What’s next?

The evening started out with the group playing a spirited, recognizable version of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” So far, so good: not revolutionary from a cowboy-shirted group sporting standup bass, guitar, accordion, pennywhistle and—OK—drums. When Amram sat down at the grand piano, however, the guys launched into a stride piano, accordion and cowbell version of “Take the A Train,” and we all knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore. Later, in the middle of “Pull My Daisy,” Amram went into what seemed like a 15-minute spoken-word history of his pal Jack Kerouac, alternating playing piano, French horn and scatting. It seemed completely off the cuff, and when I asked his manager, Doug Yeager, if Amram were really making this up as he went along, Yeager replied, “Absolutely. And if we were in Berlin, he’d be doing it in German. And in Paris, in French.”

The Amigos relived moments from their State Department tour of the Far East and interspersed a few original tunes (including a lovely, close-harmony “More Than Friends”) with folk song staples. They ended the night with the last song the Amigos played every night from Beijing to Burma, John Denver’s “Country Road,” unexpected enough to keep us clapping, and singing along.

I’ll be sure to catch the Amigos at Rockwood Music Hall on May 2, and I hope to see you there, too. This collection of talented young men is well worth the price of admission. - Elmore Magazine

Sam Reider: Jazz musician plays with his Amigos in S.F. before tour
The last time we talked to Sam Reider, he was hunched over the keys of the grand piano at the Urban School of San Francisco, a teenage ringer pouring out chorus after bopping chorus on the classic chord changes to "I Got Rhythm."

The kid was a stone-cold jazzer when he graduated from Urban and moved to Manhattan, where he pursued American Studies at Columbia and played music, appearing on the late Marian McPartland's prime NPR show "Piano Jazz" at 19. But Reider found his true metier when he began studying the Depression and plunged into the world of Woody Guthrie. The radical Okie troubadour was the subject of his thesis and a source of inspiration for the American roots music Reider now sings, writes and plays on the accordion.

"That was a turning point," says Reider, 25, who performs and records old and new songs with the Amigos, an intentionally Spanglish-named quartet (guitar, bass, accordion and drums) that serves up a swinging mash of bluegrass, jazz, Cajun, country and gospel music. "I brought my accordion to some gigs, and I realized what I really loved was singing and playing folk songs, like I did with my family and at camp. That really turned me on. I met some like-minded musicians and got into harmony singing and bluegrass."

The Amigos, who had a hit run at Lincoln Center and who've performed with stars like Pete Seeger, Nashville singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale and Vince Gill & the Time Jumpers, play Amnesia in San Francisco on Dec. 19, the afternoon of Dec. 21 at Down Home Music in El Cerrito and that night at the Crepe Place in Santa Cruz. They'll also play and do workshops at Reider's alma maters, both in the Haight, where he grew up: Dec. 17 at Urban and the 18th at the San Francisco Day School.

Among other things, they'll play their arrangements of classic American songs like the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger" and "Hey, Joe," the 1960s old-style murder ballad usually attributed to West Coast songwriter Billy Roberts and made famous by Jimi Hendrix. Those tunes will appear on the band's first CD, due out in February. Reider plays piano on a few songs. The record's artistic producer was David Amram, the storied 81-year-old composer and multi-instrumentalist whose associates have included everyone from Dizzy Gillespie and Leonard Bernstein to Langston Hughes and Willie Nelson.

Amram does some spoken word and plays wooden flutes from China and Egypt on some tracks, as he did last week when he joined the band for a Jazz at Lincoln Center performance.

"When he plays those flutes over our folk-music vibe, it creates a cool psychedelic effect," says Reider, on the phone from his Brooklyn home. "There's a lot of collective improvisation on these old folk songs."

Next year, Reider and the band travel through Asia on a five-week tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department, performing and giving workshops in China, Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

"It's a chance to collaborate with musicians in each country," says Reider, who's approaching the exchange with the attitude that "we're not trying to teach them something as much we're trying to learn from them."

Auditioning for the diplomatic tour, the band was asked to arrange and perform "Jasmine Flower," a Chinese folk song. "It sounds a lot like the Appalachian song 'Wildwood Flower,' " he says. "We did a mashup of the two. We got the gig."

For more information, go to www.samreidermusic.com. - San Francisco Chronicle

The Amigos Band with Ranger Doug and Andy Stein
Rating:StarStarStarStarStar
August 2, 2013
The second installment of The Amigos Band Presents…. at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center Monday night brought Ranger Doug of Riders In The Sky up from Nashville to join forces with New York's own jazz/classical fiddler extraordinaire Andy Stein.

Ranger Doug was most impressed with the young New York Amigos Band quartet (Samuel Reider, vocals and accordion; Justin Poindexter, vocals and guitar; Eddie Ray Barbash, vocals, saxophone and washboard; and Noah Garabedian, bass fiddle) after they came down to meet him when he played City Winery last February with Nashville Western swing band the Time Jumpers.

“They’re the most enthusiastic, wonderful young guys,”said Ranger Doug before the early show, “really talented and with great taste in music.”

“We’re just fortunate that we get to do this,” responded Poindexter. “We truly, deeply love all American music, and we find people who have inspired us who really love the music. Mentorship is an important part of American music, too: There’s a common thread in sitting in with legends like Ranger Doug and Andy.”

Poindexter recalled watching Ranger Doug on on the group's Saturday morning CBS TV series when he was a kid.

“He had the first arch-top guitar I ever saw,” Poindexter added.

Poindexter also spoke of the “common ground” between the Amigos and their guests, and Ranger Doug lauded the Amigos for “really listening to each other,” as well as their “ambitious arrangements.”

“They don’t just say, ‘This song is in E-flat,’” Ranger Doug added. “We rehearsed for two days, and it was really fun.”

Indeed, the mostly acoustic Amigos, Poindexter noted, likened the practice time to “spending the entire weekend cramming for a Western swing final.” The band opened the show with Western swing king Bob Wills’ take on Count Basie’s “Jumpin’ At The Woodside,” followed by Poindexter singing Grand Ole Opry star George Hamilton IV’s 1963 country chart-topper “Abilene.”

The sun was starting to set behind them, through the windows overlooking Central Park and the East Side apartment towers, as they performed a timely original song “Diner In The Sky” before bringing out Ranger Doug, himself an Opry star of 30 years’ standing.

Ranger Doug—a.k.a. “The Idol of American Youth”—explained that Bob Wills would be the focus of the evening’s musical selections, as he had taken the Big Band music of the 1930s and revised it with fiddles and steel guitars. Among the choice Wills tunes performed were “My Confession,” “Time Changes Everything,” and “Along The Navajo Trail,” which as Ranger Doug, in his role as country music historian, noted, was the title of Roy Rogers’ 1945 movie and sung by him as well as the likes of Dinah Shore and Sam Cooke; at Dizzy’s, Poindexter switched to lap steel for it.

Ranger Doug also sang the much-recorded jazz tune “East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)” (backed only by his 1941 Gibson arch-top, Stein and Garabedian) and Cole Porter’s “Don’t Fence Me In”—also the title tune of a Roy Rogers film, and one which Nellie McKay, the first guest in the Amigos Band Presents… series, performed with the group. Notably, everyone on stage smiled whenever Ranger Doug sang, and The Idol himself smiled broadly whenever Stein soloed.

The show, said Reider, was particularly meaningful for The Amigos, who had seen Riders In The Sky perform at the Opry three years ago. Inspired by Ranger Doug, Barbash had spent the entire night after trying to learn how to yodel (“It’s a good thing he gave up!” said Reider).

Ranger Doug, however, noted that yodeling is a “proven chick magnet through the centuries,” then proved it again with a yodeling tune.

“Three years later, here we are!” Reider concluded, with as much amazement as pride to be sharing the stage with his idol.

By the way, Stein, who went on to play with the major country bands Asleep At The Wheel and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, first played with Ranger Doug in a bluegrass band in 1968, when they were both students at the University of Michigan.

“We’re too damn old to play ourselves now—and have to be animated!” Ranger Doug told Stein before the show, referring, of course, to the current Kickstarter campaign to complete animation of The Cartoon Cowboys, an animated kids film featuring the songs and performances of Riders In The Sky.

The Amigos encored alone with an instrumental version of “All Of Me” followed by “Blue Moon Of Kentucky,” Reider giving the bluegrass classic a zydeco touch. The group will next present at Dizzy’s in November legendary New York composer/musician David Amram, with whom they're recording an album for release next year, and who will be celebrating his 83rd birthday. - The Examiner

The Amigos Band with Ranger Doug and Andy Stein
Rating:StarStarStarStarStar
August 2, 2013
The second installment of The Amigos Band Presents…. at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center Monday night brought Ranger Doug of Riders In The Sky up from Nashville to join forces with New York's own jazz/classical fiddler extraordinaire Andy Stein.

Ranger Doug was most impressed with the young New York Amigos Band quartet (Samuel Reider, vocals and accordion; Justin Poindexter, vocals and guitar; Eddie Ray Barbash, vocals, saxophone and washboard; and Noah Garabedian, bass fiddle) after they came down to meet him when he played City Winery last February with Nashville Western swing band the Time Jumpers.

“They’re the most enthusiastic, wonderful young guys,”said Ranger Doug before the early show, “really talented and with great taste in music.”

“We’re just fortunate that we get to do this,” responded Poindexter. “We truly, deeply love all American music, and we find people who have inspired us who really love the music. Mentorship is an important part of American music, too: There’s a common thread in sitting in with legends like Ranger Doug and Andy.”

Poindexter recalled watching Ranger Doug on on the group's Saturday morning CBS TV series when he was a kid.

“He had the first arch-top guitar I ever saw,” Poindexter added.

Poindexter also spoke of the “common ground” between the Amigos and their guests, and Ranger Doug lauded the Amigos for “really listening to each other,” as well as their “ambitious arrangements.”

“They don’t just say, ‘This song is in E-flat,’” Ranger Doug added. “We rehearsed for two days, and it was really fun.”

Indeed, the mostly acoustic Amigos, Poindexter noted, likened the practice time to “spending the entire weekend cramming for a Western swing final.” The band opened the show with Western swing king Bob Wills’ take on Count Basie’s “Jumpin’ At The Woodside,” followed by Poindexter singing Grand Ole Opry star George Hamilton IV’s 1963 country chart-topper “Abilene.”

The sun was starting to set behind them, through the windows overlooking Central Park and the East Side apartment towers, as they performed a timely original song “Diner In The Sky” before bringing out Ranger Doug, himself an Opry star of 30 years’ standing.

Ranger Doug—a.k.a. “The Idol of American Youth”—explained that Bob Wills would be the focus of the evening’s musical selections, as he had taken the Big Band music of the 1930s and revised it with fiddles and steel guitars. Among the choice Wills tunes performed were “My Confession,” “Time Changes Everything,” and “Along The Navajo Trail,” which as Ranger Doug, in his role as country music historian, noted, was the title of Roy Rogers’ 1945 movie and sung by him as well as the likes of Dinah Shore and Sam Cooke; at Dizzy’s, Poindexter switched to lap steel for it.

Ranger Doug also sang the much-recorded jazz tune “East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)” (backed only by his 1941 Gibson arch-top, Stein and Garabedian) and Cole Porter’s “Don’t Fence Me In”—also the title tune of a Roy Rogers film, and one which Nellie McKay, the first guest in the Amigos Band Presents… series, performed with the group. Notably, everyone on stage smiled whenever Ranger Doug sang, and The Idol himself smiled broadly whenever Stein soloed.

The show, said Reider, was particularly meaningful for The Amigos, who had seen Riders In The Sky perform at the Opry three years ago. Inspired by Ranger Doug, Barbash had spent the entire night after trying to learn how to yodel (“It’s a good thing he gave up!” said Reider).

Ranger Doug, however, noted that yodeling is a “proven chick magnet through the centuries,” then proved it again with a yodeling tune.

“Three years later, here we are!” Reider concluded, with as much amazement as pride to be sharing the stage with his idol.

By the way, Stein, who went on to play with the major country bands Asleep At The Wheel and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, first played with Ranger Doug in a bluegrass band in 1968, when they were both students at the University of Michigan.

“We’re too damn old to play ourselves now—and have to be animated!” Ranger Doug told Stein before the show, referring, of course, to the current Kickstarter campaign to complete animation of The Cartoon Cowboys, an animated kids film featuring the songs and performances of Riders In The Sky.

The Amigos encored alone with an instrumental version of “All Of Me” followed by “Blue Moon Of Kentucky,” Reider giving the bluegrass classic a zydeco touch. The group will next present at Dizzy’s in November legendary New York composer/musician David Amram, with whom they're recording an album for release next year, and who will be celebrating his 83rd birthday. - The Examiner

Chosen as this year’s cultural ambassadors for the American Music Abroad program by the US Department of State, The Amigos Band began as a trio, The Tres Amigos, in 2009. The three friends—accordionist Sam Reider, guitarist Justin Poindexter and saxophonist Eddie Barbash—bonded over their love of a variety of American musical styles from bluegrass and country to jazz and folk. “When it was just the three of us, we had to rely on each other a great deal to compensate for all the rhythm section instruments we were missing,” recalled Reider, who describes their style as Americana. “Justin and I traded off playing bass notes and Eddie learned to play the washboard. It was a balancing act that took an immense amount of practice and focus—two things that were only made possible because we’re great friends and enjoy working together. That’s where the name came from. And it stuck.” The charismatic core three, who still take turns singing lead and engage in pitch-perfect three-part harmonies, are now backed by bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer Will Clark for a fuller sound. “We have more capability with the bigger ensemble,” said Poindexter. “We can really get a crowd rockin’ and play more danceable material and I think it becomes more participatory for our audience.” In writing their full-length debut, Reider and Poindexter also took a more collaborative approach. “A lot of the songs were either my songs or Sam’s songs,” remarked Poindexter, “but when we started collaborating on them, I feel like the songs not only became stronger than they had been, but more than that, they became playable. They became something that really felt like an Amigos song.” After meeting acclaimed musician and composer David Amram (who has worked with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Pete Seeger and Jack Kerouac) at an all-night party at a folk festival in upstate New York, the Amigos asked him to co-produce their record. “He’s not the one that’s turning the knobs on the console,” noted Poindexter. “He’s the one that’s getting us in the mindset, the one that makes something really beautiful that speaks to the tradition of American music. He’s such a living legacy of everything that’s happened in American music over the past 60 years that we felt like it was important to have this kind of mentor figure alongside us.” Wanting to make an album the old-school way, the band was holed up in the studio for days on end with Amram and producer/engineer Devin Greenwood (Norah Jones, Langhorne Slim). The record consists of originals that harken back to Amram’s Beat Generation, along with fresh arrangements of folk standards like “The Wayfaring Stranger,” “Hey Joe” and “The California Blues,” a Jimmie Rodgers classic once adapted by Woody Guthrie. The Amigos Band’s version is a tribute to Guthrie and features additional lyrics by Reider, who grew up in the Golden State. “We set down a strong groove on this simple folk song,” recalled Reider, “and on top of that foundation, started a collective improvisation with Amram on penny whistle. The jazz improvisation that Amram helps us bring out is really amazing.” The Amigos enjoy exploring all different genres with special guests and mentors they meet along the way. In their semi-regular “The Amigos Band Presents” series at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center, they’ve featured artists like jazz singer Nellie McKay and yodeling cowboy Ranger Doug (whom both North Carolinian Poindexter and Barbash, a Long Island native, idolized growing up). The next one takes place this month and features their spiritual guide, Amram. They will celebrate his 83rd birthday while showcasing music from the album, which will be released in January. Expect ensemble singing, dancing, matching Western shirts and bebop solos from the classically trained musicians who give it their all whether they’re playing schools, churches, festivals or venues big or small. “The Amigos are role models for a whole new generation of musicians and listeners,” said Amram. “They’re brilliant improvisers and have so much collective positive energy that during the first 14-hour day I spent with them in the studio, I forgot that I will soon be 83. Their music… is for all ages from toddlers to my contemporaries, who will abandon the shuffleboard courts, come to hear them and go home feeling like a teenager again.” - See more at: http://www.lipulse.com/art-music/article/the-amigos-the-beat#sthash.NIKzK50g.dpuf - Long Island Pulse