S.A.M. was formed in 2012 by old friends and musical compatriots.

S - Sam Grobe-Heintz has been active in the Bay Area jazz scene for the past 10 years, during which time he has had the privilege of playing with Andrew Speight, Akira Tana, Saturo Oda, Erik Jekabson, Micheal Zisman, Marcus Belgrave, Vince Lateano, Donald "Duck" Bailey, Eric Alexander, Pete Yellin, Jamie Davis, Wycliffe Gordon, Hale Baskin, Alexander String Quartet, Mike Olmos, Darryl Green, Jaz Sawyer, Glenn Richman and Eddie Marshall, among others. He is a member of several bay area bands, including Horace-Scope and the Fil Lorenz Orchestra, and has appeared at innumerable venues around the Bay Area. Sam has taught piano privately for the past 10 years, has taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and currently holds a teaching position in the Jazz Studies department at University of Pacific. Over the years, he has studied piano with Harold Mabern, Joe Gilman, Geoffrey Keezer and the late Smith Dobson.
Sam lives in the Hayward hills with his wife, Theresa and daughter, Marcella.

A - A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin Harris is known for his hard-grooving swing and strong rhythmic presence. His style is heavily influenced by bebop masters such as Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Billy Higgins and Jimmy Cobb. While living in California, he was a staple in the San Francisco jazz scene, playing at venues including the Berkeley JazzSchool, Jazz at Pearls, and the Stanford Jazz Festival. Since moving to New York City in 2007, Harris has established himself as a skilled sideman, bringing his signature sound and feel to a diverse range of musical settings. He can be found playing in some of New York’s best jazz clubs including Cleopatra’s Needle, Smoke Jazz Club, Smalls and Fat Cat Jazz.
In addition to performing, he is an experienced educator, having worked with private students and with larger groups in workshop settings. He has been a faculty member of the Stanford Jazz Workshop since 2006 and was the regular drummer for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s WeBop! early childhood jazz education program. Austin earned a B.M. in Jazz Performance from San Francisco State University and has studied with Akira Tana, Carl Allen, and Kenny Washington.

M - ToMoko Funaki was born in Japan into a musical family. Like her mother, a violinist for a symphony orchestra in Japan, Tomoko began as a classical musician studying violin with the Suzuki Method at the age of 4. By age 16, her musical interests broadened and she picked up the flute, her father’s instrument.
Tomoko moved to the United States to attend college and lived in New York and San Francisco, where she continued to perform and expose herself to a broad range of musical genres. It was during this time that she first discovered her passion for jazz.
After moving to San Francisco in 2002, she began studying upright bass and quickly immersed herself into the San Francisco jazz scene, studying and performing with luminaries including Ray Drummond, Rodney Whitaker, Andrew Speight, Vince Lateano, Mark Levine, Donald "Duck" Bailey, Denise Perrier and Rufus Reid. She has also been involved in the Stanford Jazz Workshop in recent years.