Jonathan Scales Fourchestra at Flat Iron

You’ve heard this before, but the whimsically named Jonathan Scales Fourchestra is really tough to describe. Veering from in-your-face, jaw dropping chops and passion, to those quiet moments when the background noise disappears and you hold your breath to take in a soundscape of solitude, the power trio of electric bass (E'Lon JD), drums (Maison Guidry), and steel pans(Jonathan Scales) combines elements of jazz, classical, and progressive rock, peppered with Latin rhythms and soulful outbursts of funk. From club and festival stages across North America and Europe, and tours of Africa, Southeast and Central Asia as a Cultural Ambassador for the US Department of State, to their NPR Tiny Desk Concert featuring Béla Fleck, the Fourchestra’s live shows make even the most jaded listeners forget where they are… even if just for a precious moment"Béla Fleck knows a thing or two about establishing an identity in the jazz world while playing an unusual instrument. So it makes sense that the banjo player would bond with a young jazz musician whose speciality is an unusual instrument: steel pannist Jonathan Scales. "I see a kindred spirit in him." Fleck says"-Downbeat Magazine...

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You’ve heard this before, but the whimsically named Jonathan Scales Fourchestra is really tough to describe. Veering from in-your-face, jaw dropping chops and passion, to those quiet moments when the background noise disappears and you hold your breath to take in a soundscape of solitude, the power trio of electric bass (E'Lon JD), drums (Maison Guidry), and steel pans(Jonathan Scales) combines elements of jazz, classical, and progressive rock, peppered with Latin rhythms and soulful outbursts of funk. From club and festival stages across North America and Europe, and tours of Africa, Southeast and Central Asia as a Cultural Ambassador for the US Department of State, to their NPR Tiny Desk Concert featuring Béla Fleck, the Fourchestra’s live shows make even the most jaded listeners forget where they are… even if just for a precious moment"Béla Fleck knows a thing or two about establishing an identity in the jazz world while playing an unusual instrument. So it makes sense that the banjo player would bond with a young jazz musician whose speciality is an unusual instrument: steel pannist Jonathan Scales. "I see a kindred spirit in him." Fleck says"-Downbeat Magazine
"...joyously inventive..."-JazzTimes
"To say I am impressed would be a gross understatement! Wow, Jonathan!"-Béla Fleck
"At the end of the day Scales is going to be a major player in rewriting the books on steelpan music outside the box."-When Steel Talks

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