Sam Reider - Petrichor

Sam Reider
Petrichor

Release date: 07/22/2022

Slow & Steady Records announces the release of pianist-composer Sam Reider’s first solo piano recording Petrichor. The eight original compositions form a musical reflection on Reider’s recent homecoming to San Francisco after ten years in New York. “Hiking the foggy coastline, climbing through redwood forests up to alpine lakes, I felt rejuvenated to be back home, in touch with a part of myself that had laid dormant,” says Reider. “ I sought to capture the grandeur, intimacy and nostalgia of the landscape I grew up with.”

The move back to California also reunited Reider with his grandfather’s 1918 Steinway, the piano from his childhood. Throughout much of Reider’s professional career, he’s focused on writing, recording, singing and playing accordion with his band Human Hands, which has garnered a loyal international following through its infectious blend of bluegrass and jazz. But on Petrichor, Reider returns to his piano roots, with particular focus on composition (which Reider currently studies at San Francisco State University, while continuing a mentorship with NYC-based composer Kendall Briggs) as well as paying homage to his earliest inspirations on piano – Duke Ellington, James Booker, Keith Jarrett, Claude Debussy, and Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou.

Petrichor was recorded in August, 2021 at SandBox, a brand new performing arts venue in Sand City, CA that’s run by cellist Michelle Djokic. In fact, Reider first discovered the space (and its 1917 Steinway) while quarantining in the Monterey area during the pandemic, and was immediately enamored with its sound. Two months later, Reider was back at the SandBox, having written and workshopped his new music. This time, he was accompanied by engineers and co-producers Jacob Blumberg (who grew up with Reider in the Bay Area) and Jon Seale (of Mason Jar Music) with the intention of “capturing the vibe of Michelle’s space,” as Reider puts it.

The word "petrichor" means the fresh smell of the earth after a first rain. “It felt like a potent metaphor for me in many ways,” says Reider. “My homecoming to San Francisco after many years living on the East Coast, the ongoing drought in California, which is punctuated by occasional rains, and the first glimmers of hope in the midst of the pandemic.” Driven by Reider’s  gifted sense of melodicism, playful song forms, odd (and standard) time meters, and a reverence of the solo piano tradition, Petrichor embodies the many paths and paces of life, which often lead us home again.

All compositions by Sam Reider.

Recorded at SandBox Sand City, CA.

Produced by Sam Reider.

Co-produced and Engineered by Jacob Blumberg and Jon Seale.

Mixed by Jon Scale at Mason Jar Music, Brooklyn, NY.

Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann.

Front and inside photos by Gabriel Harber.

Album art design by Alexandra Washkin.