HopMonk Novato Session Room

*Friday, March 3, 8:00 pm show

All-Star Jazz Group – Five very special musicians, all long-time friends and collaborators, all band leader/composers in their own right, come together as a new collective quintet. Three reunited members of the seminalacid-Jazz group T. J. Kirk are joined by renowned bassist Todd Sickafoose (Hadestown, Ani DiFranco)and visionary violinist Jenny Scheinman (Bill Frisell, Lucinda Williams) to create an ensemble of limitless possibilities.

Cinematic soundscapes, earthy grooves, lyrical melodies in counterpoint, guitars being ravished, electronic treatments, and colorful percussion make this group an overwhelmingly talented and original live act.

Scott Amendola’s discography is vast, and includes many records of his compelling original music, with artists such as Jeff Parker, Nels Cline, Jenny Scheinman and Trevor Dunn. Longtime bands include the Charlie Hunter/Scott Amendola Duo, The Nels Cline Singers, The Sticklerphonics, and Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane. He can also be heard on records with Madeleine Peyroux, Henry Kaiser,Dave Liebman, Chris Williamson and John Zorn.

Jenny Scheinman is a violinist, fiddler, singer, and writer of songs with and without words. Her manyCDs include her releases on Sony Masterworks, Cryptogramophone, Koch and Tzadik. She has recorded and toured extensively with some of the most innovative jazz artists of our time, such as Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Brian Blade, Nels Cline and Marc Ribot, and American songwriting legendsLucinda Williams, Bruce Cockburn, Rodney Crowell, Lou Reed and Ani Difranco.

A Bay Area native, Todd Sickafoose won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Hadestown, and a 2020 Grammy Award for his work on the Hadestown Original Broadway Cast Recording, whichwon Best Musical Theater Album. He has recorded and toured with Ani DiFranco for two decades, and also worked with Andrew Bird, Trey Anastasio, and Nels Cline. A Bay Area native, Sickafoose spent some years in Los Angeles studying with bass legend Charlie Haden and composition with Mel Powell.

John Schott, guitarist and composer, is a member of The Paul Dresher Ensemble, with whom he premiered contemporary classical works by Steve Mackey, Sebastian Currier and Fred Frith; the pioneering acid-jazz band T.J. Kirk, nominated for a Grammy for their second Warner Bros release If Four Was One; and has extensive collaborations with clarinetist Ben Goldberg as well as the authorJonathan Lethem. Schott’s discography as a composer/bandleader includes CDs on the KnittingFactory, Songlines, Tzadik, Nuscope, and New World Records labels, and sideman appearances withTom Waits and John Zorn.

Guitarist Will Bernard, has been described by his collaborator Stanton Moore as “Probably the most versatile guitar player I’ve ever worked with…He’s just killing.” Bernard’s discography includes releases on Antilles/Polygram, Palmetto Records and Posi-tone. His record Party Hats was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008 for best contemporary jazz album. Bernard’s extensive list of credits include the Stanton Moore Trio, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, Groundation, Dr. Lonnie Smith, TomWaits, Ben Sidran, Dr John, Booker T. Jones, George Porter Jr., and Zigaboo Modeliste.