Friends Assemble: Amedola/Greenlief/Cline at The Parlor Room

About three-quarters of the way into the 80-minute performance by Scott Amendola (drums), Phillip Greenlief (reeds) and Nels Cline (guitar) at The Parlor Room on September 18, the mood turned from thorny energy to profound spiritual grace. Summoning the provocative uplift of John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler and other 1960s-era ministers of sonic healing, these three long-time West Coast comrades dialed down the cacophony and created an opened-hearted requiem for a dying world.

When bassist Trevor Dunn had to bow out of the tour at the 11th hour to be with his ailing mother, guitarist Nels Cline stepped into the breach. Greenlief had introduced Amendola to Cline in the 1990s, while all three lived in California. The drummer and guitarist have been close collaborators since, most notably as two-thirds of the Nels Cline Singers. Thirty year shared histories have their benefits: comfort with not knowing what comes next, and confidence that deep listening and experience will provide a road map. Such was the case on Thursday, as the trio manufactured meaning from chards of spiky electronics, braying saxophones and crackling drums.

Fans of Cline who were expecting the sweeping mood music of Lovers, the pristine duet filigree with Julian Lage, the infectious hooks of Wilco, or jazz licks heard on his latest project, The Consentrik Quartet, were rudely awakened. Instead they got  gnarly grit and audacious skronk layered on top of driving rhythms and abstract reeds. The juxtaposition of the music’s hard edge and Cline’s polite demeanor and generous spirit was startling. In the best jazz tradition, the 69-year old guitarist weaved superb stories. Over dinner, then breakfast the next day, we reveled in tales of his relationship with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono and Duane Allman’s guitar, all delivered without ego or pretense. Cline is a humble superstar, completely open to the next musical adventure.

It was remarkable that Cline was free to participate in an eight city tour that took the band to New York, Philadelphia, Providence, Northampton, Portland, Keene, Bar Harbor and Potsdam. I began discussions with Amendola some 18 months ago to craft this concert, only to have to pivot a week out. Amendola, who studied at Berklee and lives in Berkeley, has been in the Bay Area for decades. From his home base, he launched his career with TJ Kirk (Charlie Hunter, Will Bernard, John Schott) in the 1990s, before hooking up with Cline later in the decade. Throughout his career, including on releases under his own name, Amendola has gravitated towards guitarists. In addition to Cline, Hunter, Bernard and Schott, he has recorded and toured with Henry Kaiser, Pat Martino, Jeff Parker, Elliott Sharp and Bill Frisell. Amendola’s use of electronics, which he plays through an amp and manipulates with pedals, lets him interact with guitarists on multiple levels. While it was sometimes difficult to differentiate Amendola’s electronics from Cline’s, his drumming was utterly distinct and delivered with rock and roll directness. 

One of Phillip Greenlief’s first recordings was Collect My Thoughts, a duo with Amendola, released on Vinny Golia’s L.A.-based Nine Winds label in 1995. Greenlief, who moved to Bar Harbor, Maine a couple of years ago, had been an integral part of the Bay Area creative music scene since the late 1970s, and has extensive history with SF-improvisers like Fred Frith, Jon Raskin, Lisa Mezzacappa, Gino Robair, Kyle Bruckmann and Trevor Dunn. He played alto and tenor saxophone and clarinet with controlled abandon, and his circular breathing allowed him to keep up with the uninterrupted flow of his bandmates. He asked if there are any high quality pipe organs in the Valley, laying the groundwork for a potential trio concert with Lantskap Logic, featuring organist Evelyn Davis and guitarist Fred Frith. Turns out there are a half-dozen beautiful pipe organs in Amherst, Northampton and Holyoke. More music ahead!

There is something reassuring seeing three old friends creating music together. From the stage, Greenlief told us that each night the music is different, yet the comradery and trust between them is a constant, and an enduring testament to the power of working relationships.