From the Cars to Duke Ellington to Lorde, Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola Delight at Sweetwater

The two-year-old Sweetwater Music Hall has long since matured into a venue capable of booking a diverse array of top-notch performers, including an incredible run of late that has featured the likes of Patterson Hood, Michael Franti, The Headhunters, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Bombino and Taj Mahal.

But in case you needed another reminder, Bay Area jazz greats Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola led a packed house on a scintillating journey Wednesday night. Hunter can play basslines, rhythm guitar and solos on a custom-made, seven-string guitar, while Amendola is the seemingly perfect complement on drums, adapting to each of Hunter’s improvisational jaunts and inciting his own.

The pair has released four 5-track EPs, one each focusing on the music of Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, the Cars and Hank Williams, respectively. They dove into the catalogs of each of those artists Wednesday night, including a raucous version of the Cars’ “Let the Good Times Roll” that had the crowd eagerly flexing their vocal chops.

Hunter, as entertaining with his guitar faces as he is with his brilliant playing, also led the duo into covers of such divergent hits as Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By” and Tupac’s “California Love.” They also delighted the crowd with a rendition of Lorde’s “Royals,” arguably the most popular song in the world over the past eight months. Check out the snippet above.

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