Here’s a great review of a recent Jonathan Scales Fourchestra show at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC:
… I was able to catch the Asheville, North Carolina-based genre mashing act, the Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, who were ironically enough for this show at least, a trio, and not a quartet. Their material centered on rhythm and percussion as the band was comprised of a steel drummer, a drummer and a bassist. As Scales joked on more than one occasion, you weren’t going to hear some stereotypical calypso covers – or calypso-styled standards. Instead what we all heard was some jazz fusion that at time owed a heavy debt to bands such as Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra and several others but with a playful, goofy, mischievous air, while being quite funky. The steel drum played the unusual role of simultaneously setting the melody and rhythm, pulling the song forward, which allowed their drummer to play with unusual and angular jazz syncopation. And to be honest, it was truly novel (which is something I don’t say too often). When Scales mentioned that one of their original compositions was influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra and Muddy Waters, I was probably the only one who actually knew who he was talking about, and in a way I found that kind of sad. (For some reason Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever have been mostly forgotten and I think that’s fucking shameful. But that’s another issue for another time.) On a certain level, I wasn’t completely convinced that the audience actually got them or their sound – you would be amazed by the lack of sophistication that occurs at live shows across the city – but they certainly won me over. I found myself intrigued by their unique sound and I hope to see them in town sometime soon.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE and SEE PHOTOS HERE: http://thejoyofviolentmovement.tumblr.com/post/8566415853/the-jonathan-scales-fourchestra-and-joe-fletcher-and