Jonathan Scales (born September 14, 1984) is an American steel pannist and composer. He has recorded and produced seven albums, the most recent being ''Mindstate Music'', released in 2019 on

Ropeadope Records Ropeadope Records is an American record label known for recordings in a variety of genres including jazz, hip hop, gospel, and electronic music. The label, now led by Louis Marks, was founded in 1999 by Andy HurwitzAndy Hurwitz"Ropeadope carves i ...

. Since 2007, Scales has recorded and performed with Victor Wooten, Howard Levy, The Duhks, Roy "Future Man" Wooten, Jeff Coffin, Jeff Sipe, Casey Driessen, Oteil Burbridge,

Kofi Burbridge Kofi Burbridge (September 22, 1961 – February 15, 2019) was an American keyboardist and flautist of the blues and blues rock group Tedeschi Trucks Band. Burbridge was a classically trained multi-instrumentalist who provided keyboards, organ, ...

, Yonrico Scott, and Béla Fleck whom Scales describes as his "musical hero". His albums have been reviewed by '' Modern Drummer'' and '' JazzTimes''. Scales graduated from

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

in 2006.

Early life and career

Scales was born in San Francisco and was raised in a military family, spending time in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, and Germany before settling in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

around the age of fifteen. A saxophonist since high school, Scales took up the steelpan in 2002 and fell in love with the sound of the instrument. Scales enrolled at

in 2002, and after graduating, he formed the

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

quartet

Jonathan Scales Fourchestra Jonathan Scales (born September 14, 1984) is an American Steel drums, steel pannist and composer. He has recorded and produced seven albums, the most recent being ''Mindstate Music'', released in 2019 on Ropeadope Records. Since 2007, Scales has ...

. The band's collaborative debut, ''Fourchestra'', was released in 2013 on Ropeadope Records. 2014 ushered in ''Mixtape Symphony'', a long-form album inspired by Roy "Future Man" Wooten, also released on Ropeadope Records, featuring compositions by both Scales and bassist Cody Wright.

Discography

As solo artist

* ''One Track Mind'', 2007 * ''Plot/Scheme'', 2008 * ''Character Farm and Other Short Stories'', 2011

with Fourchestra

* ''Fourchestra'', 2013 ( Ropeadope) * ''Mixtape Symphony'', 2014 (Ropeadope) *''Pillar'', 2018 (Ropeadope) *''Mindstate Music'', 2019 (Ropeadope)

References

External links

Official websiteInterview
with Bob Danziger from the California State University, Monterey Bay Jazz Interview Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Scales, Jonathan 1984 births Living people Musicians from Fayetteville, North Carolina Appalachian State University alumni American jazz musicians Jazz fusion musicians Steelpan musicians Musical groups from North Carolina Jazz musicians from North Carolina Musicians from Asheville, North Carolina