Jonathan Scales Fourchestra - Innovative Steel Pan - MoDaddy's October 1st

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by Erin Scholze
on Monday, September 20, 2010

Jonathan Scales Fourchestra
w/ Marley Carroll (DJ Set)
MoDaddy's
Friday, October 1st, 2010

9pm, $5, 21+
828-258-1550
77-B Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
www.modaddysbar.com
www.jonscales.com

The steel pan, an amazing musical discovery born in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago, is often times associated with sandy beaches, tropical climates, and cruise ships: that's not exactly what you get at a show by the jazz-fusion quartet, Jonathan Scales Fourchestra.

Here you have a classically trained composer turned steel pan maestro (front man Jonathan Scales), heavily influenced by the complexity of banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck to the hustle of Jay-Z. Gritty blues guitar (Duane Simpson) and 'old-soul' bass (Michael Libramento) provide the harmonic support for Scales' sound, while gospel/hip-hop drums (Phill Bronson) drive the time-shifting, modern grooves. The cast of Characters hold this mind-bending concoction together with jazz edge and classical sensibility.

Steel pannist and virtuoso composer, Jonathan Scales, formed his 'Fourchestra' in 2007 as a means to deliver his musically complex, but somehow accessible ideas to anyone willing to listen. Since then, Scales has released two well received, full-length works (2007's One-Track Mind and 2008's Plot/Scheme) featuring the likes of Jeff Coffin (of Dave Matthews Band), Joseph Wooten (of Steve Miller Band), and Jeff Sipe (of Aquarium Rescue Unit). 2011 will usher in the 3rd installment of Jonathan's musical saga, "Character Farm and Other Short Stories". Scales' versatility and innovative nature have allowed him to share the stage with acts like The Wooten Brothers Band, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, The Duhks, Everyone Orchestra, Toubab Krewe, Ben Sollee, Casey Dreissen, and Futureman.

Check out this great video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njnac3S2PAc&feature=related

Press:

"...A Thelonius Monk-like attitude with a Mozart creativity that works." -Pan on the net

"At the end of the day, Scales is going to be a major play in rewriting the books on steelpan music outside of the box." -When Steel Talks

"...rising star of the steel drums..." -Traps Magazine

"...Jonathan Scales makes the pans fit in unconventional musical spaces..." - Modern Drummer

"The innovative Asheville, North Carolina based steel drummer Jonathan Scales brings new vitality to the traditional Caribbean instrument on his sophomore release, picking up where Othello Molineaux left off 20 years ago with Jaco Pastorius." - JazzTimes

"Jonathan Scales is dropping serious musical conversation. . . Jonathan Scales clearly has something to say - and he is letting his talent and pan instrument do the talking. There are many pretenders, but double second pan player Jonathan Scales is The Real Deal. " - Pan on the Net