Led by Latin Grammy-nominated accordionist, pianist and composer Sam Reider, The Human Hands is a collective of innovative acoustic musicians working at the confluence of American folk, jazz and chamber music. Irresistible melodies, joyful improvisation and otherworldly sounds collide in what Songlines Magazine dubbed a “mash-up of the Klezmatics, Quintette du Hot Club de France and the Punch Brothers.” The Human Hands have toured throughout the US, UK, and Europe at venues like Lincoln Center, Celtic Connections Festival, Savannah Music Festival, Strawberry Music Festival and SFJAZZ and they’ve been featured on NPR, PBS and the BBC.
Their latest record, The Golem and Other Tales, is anchored by a suite inspired by a medieval Jewish folktale about a man-made creature, the limits of human power and the relationship between divine and human creativity. The Human Hands features some of the brightest lights in acoustic music today: violinist Alex Hargreaves (Billy Strings), mandolinist Dominick Leslie (Molly Tuttle), cellist Duncan Wickel (Rising Appalachia), saxophonist Eddie Barbash (Jon Batiste), guitarist Roy Williams (Stephane Wrembel), and bassist Andrew Ryan (Kaïa Kater). The album features “The Golem” suite alongside five other compositions with echoes of Django Reinhardt, Planxty, Duke Ellington and Astor Piazzolla.
Originally trained as a jazz pianist, Reider has spent his career composing original music and collaborating with a dizzying range of roots, jazz and classical artists like Jon Batiste, Jorge Glem, Sierra Hull, Laurie Lewis, Gaby Moreno and Paquito d’Rivera. Reider’s solo piano record Petricho, garnered a four-star review in Downbeat Magazine and made their Best of 2022 list. Reider and Glem’s collaborative album Brooklyn-Cumaná was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk and was nominated for Best Instrumental Album at the 2023 Latin GRAMMY Awards. Beyond performing, 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 Girls Chorus, and Grammy-nominated violinist Tessa Lark.
