Sam Reider & The Human Hands
Sam Reider & The Human Hands
Led by Latin Grammy-nominated accordionist, pianist, and composer Sam Reider, the Human Hands is a collective of innovative acoustic musicians exploring the crossroads of folk, jazz, and traditional music from around the world. Irresistible melodies, joyful improvisation and otherworldly sounds collide in what Songlines Magazine has dubbed a "mash-up of the Klezmatics, Quintette du Hot Club de France and the Punch Brothers.” The Human Hands got their start playing late night sessions at well-known bars and music venues in Brooklyn. After releasing their debut record, Too Hot to Sleep, in 2018, they toured throughout the US, UK, and Europe appearing at premier venues and festivals like Jazz at Lincoln Center, Celtic Connections, and SFJAZZ and performing on PBS and the BBC.
Their newest record The Golem and Other Tales (2024) features some of the brightest names in acoustic music: violinist Alex Hargreaves (Billy Strings), mandolinist Dominick Leslie (Molly Tuttle), violinist/cellist Duncan Wickel (Rising Appalachia), saxophonist Eddie Barbash (Jon Batiste), guitarist Roy Williams (Stephane Wrembel), and bassist Andrew Ryan (Kaia Kater). The album presents an original narrative suite entitled “The Golem”—based on the medieval Jewish legend of a clay man brought to life—alongside five other compositions that elicit echoes of Django Reinhardt, Planxty, Duke Ellington, Astor Piazzolla, Bernard Hermann and Raymond Scott.
Originally trained as a jazz pianist, Reider has spent his career composing original music and collaborating with a range of roots, jazz, classical artists. He has performed or recorded artists such as Jon Batiste, Jorge Glem, Sierra Hull, Laurie Lewis, and Paquito d’Rivera. His 2022 solo piano record of original music Petrichor received four stars and made the Best of 2022 in Downbeat Magazine. Reider and Glem’s album Brooklyn-Cumaná was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk and was 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 the San Francisco Girl’s Chorus, and Grammy-nominated violinist Tessa Lark. Reider is on faculty at Saint Mary’s College of Moraga, where he teaches jazz, piano and composition.
Recordings
The Golem and Other Tales - Compact Disc
Sam Reider and the Human Hands are on a mission to expand the boundaries of instrumental folk music. Led by Latin GRAMMY-nominated composer, accordionist, and pianist Sam Reider, this all-star ensemble includes Alex Hargreaves (Billy Strings), Eddie Barbash (Jon Batiste), Dominick Leslie (Molly Tuttle), Duncan Wickel (Rising Appalachia), Roy Williams (Stephane Wrembel), and Andrew Ryan (Kaia Kater). The Human Hands’ new record, features Sam Reider’s 22-minute suite “The Golem” alongside five other original compositions that elicit echoes of Django Reinhardt, Planxty, Duke Ellington, Astor Piazzolla, Bernard Hermann and Raymond Scott.
Reider’s version of the legend of the Golem tells the story of a clay man brought to life by a Rabbi. In a time of darkness, the Rabbi prays for a hero to deliver his community from evil. One night, a mysterious stranger shows up at the Rabbi’s door and convinces the Rabbi to build a Golem. With his assistants, the Rabbi gathers clay, sculpts a giant man, and inscribes the name of God on its forehead. At the stroke of midnight, when the final letter is completed, the Golem comes to life. The supernatural being performs heroic acts but quickly spins out of control as it yearns to become more and more human. After falling in love with the Rabbi’s daughter, the Golem is ambushed by its creators, chased and destroyed.
Each instrument in the ensemble plays a character: the narrator/composer (piano), the Rabbi (cello), a mysterious stranger (saxophone), the Rabbi’s assistants (mandolin and guitar), the Rabbi’s daughter (violin), and the Golem (accordion). A gentle nod to the contemporary debate over artificial intelligence, the Golem story, like Frankenstein, is both a warning against man’s hubris and also a commentary on the act of artistic creation.
Musicians:
Sam Reider (piano & accordion)
Alex Hargreaves (violin)
Eddie Barbash (alto saxophone)
Duncan Wickel (violin, cello, & bouzouki)
Dominick Leslie (mandolin)
Roy Williams (acoustic & electric guitar)
Andrew Ryan (acoustic bass).
Produced by Sam Reider, Jacob Blumberg, & Jon Seale
Engineering: Jacob Blumberg & Jon Seale
Recorded at Mason Jar Music, Brooklyn, NY (2023)
Mixing: Jacob Blumberg
Mastering: Ken Lee
Album Art: Andrew Benincasa
All compositions by Sam Reider
All Rights Reserved 2024
The Golem and Other Tales - Deluxe Vinyl
Deluxe 12" vinyl version of the record featuring hand-cut, paper illustrations by Brooklyn-based artist Andrew Benincasa. The vinyl opens to display an 8-panel depiction of the Golem story to accompany the audio.
Sam Reider and the Human Hands are on a mission to expand the boundaries of instrumental folk music. Led by Latin GRAMMY-nominated composer, accordionist, and pianist Sam Reider, this all-star ensemble includes Alex Hargreaves (Billy Strings), Eddie Barbash (Jon Batiste), Dominick Leslie (Molly Tuttle), Duncan Wickel (Rising Appalachia), Roy Williams (Stephane Wrembel), and Andrew Ryan (Kaia Kater). The Human Hands’ new record, features Sam Reider’s 22-minute suite “The Golem” alongside five other original compositions that elicit echoes of Django Reinhardt, Planxty, Duke Ellington, Astor Piazzolla, Bernard Hermann and Raymond Scott.
Reider’s version of the legend of the Golem tells the story of a clay man brought to life by a Rabbi. In a time of darkness, the Rabbi prays for a hero to deliver his community from evil. One night, a mysterious stranger shows up at the Rabbi’s door and convinces the Rabbi to build a Golem. With his assistants, the Rabbi gathers clay, sculpts a giant man, and inscribes the name of God on its forehead. At the stroke of midnight, when the final letter is completed, the Golem comes to life. The supernatural being performs heroic acts but quickly spins out of control as it yearns to become more and more human. After falling in love with the Rabbi’s daughter, the Golem is ambushed by its creators, chased and destroyed.
Each instrument in the ensemble plays a character: the narrator/composer (piano), the Rabbi (cello), a mysterious stranger (saxophone), the Rabbi’s assistants (mandolin and guitar), the Rabbi’s daughter (violin), and the Golem (accordion). A gentle nod to the contemporary debate over artificial intelligence, the Golem story, like Frankenstein, is both a warning against man’s hubris and also a commentary on the act of artistic creation.
Musicians:
Sam Reider (piano & accordion)
Alex Hargreaves (violin)
Eddie Barbash (alto saxophone)
Duncan Wickel (violin, cello, & bouzouki)
Dominick Leslie (mandolin)
Roy Williams (acoustic & electric guitar)
Andrew Ryan (acoustic bass).
Produced by Sam Reider, Jacob Blumberg, & Jon Seale
Engineering: Jacob Blumberg & Jon Seale
Recorded at Mason Jar Music, Brooklyn, NY (2023)
Mixing: Jacob Blumberg
Mastering: Ken Lee
Album Art: Andrew Benincasa
All compositions by Sam Reider
All Rights Reserved 2024
Order Too Hot To Sleep in CD format. (Shipping Only to US customers.) Contact directly for international customers.
Video
PRESS
“Modern folk music.” - New York Times
"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
"The perfect distraction for insomniac bluegrass fans… a mash-up of the Klezmatics, Quintette du Hot Club de France, and the Punch Brothers" - Songlines, Top of the World
"A staggeringly virtuosic band" - RnR Magazine
"Dashes of folk influences from around the world are sprinkled into its string band aesthetic.. Reider’s accordion is the unyielding anchor, giving a dose of soulful, raw timelessness, but with a modern crispness and confidence.” - The Bluegrass Situation
“It is always moving to see fellow musicians playing with such passion, thank you Sam Reider!” - Taraf de Haidouks
Highlights 2018-2020:
Too Hot To Sleep released February 2018. Over 2000 hard copies sold to date.
Repeat performances (2018 & 2019) at Savannah Music Festival and Joye-In-Aiken Festival.
Headline bookings at Joye-In-Aiken and Pagosa Folk n’ Bluegrass Festival.
Performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Celtic Connections, Savannah Music Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Red Wing Roots, Blue Ridge Music Center, Four Corners Folk Festival, Pagosa Folk N’ Bluegrass Festival, UVM Lane Series, Vilar Performing Arts Center, Freight and Salvage, and more.
Toured England and Scotland in January of 2019 and performed live on BBC.
Educational workshops on American roots music, composition, jazz improvisation, and world music for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Stanford Jazz Festival, Vilar Performing Arts Center, and Walton Arts Center.
Selected by U.S. Department of State to conduct eighteen-day tour of France and Belgium in 2020.
Collaborations with Grammy-nominated bluegrass, world, and classical artists including Sierra Hull and Jorge Glem.