The Major Scale welcomes back one of our favorite contemporary talents: the incomparable Grace Kelly! A musical maverick who delights and entices with performances that range from flash mob parody, appearing on The Late Show with Stephan Colbert, or doing a live set for us at the Melrose Center in the Downtown Orlando Public Library. Kelly and company go full throttle with some soulful originals and dazzling interpretations of “Is You Is, or Is You Ain’t My Baby” to “You Are My Sunshine.”
Talking with Grace while we were setting up the session yielded some great conversation, this lady has serious roots with some of the legends she’s mentored with– from Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, Bob Dorough, Dave Brubeck, and Clark Terry! The Major Scale has a lot of love for Mr. Terry, so we decided to pair her segment with some of his tremendous, yet undersung, gems. Turns out it’s a natural fit, with their like-minded styles, sense of bravado and, best of all, humor. We’ll hear Terry give a nod to the Civil Rights movement, an ear to the East and all things tinged Latin, that old time religion, and a shake or two of some funky boogaloo.
This episode makes some serious joyful noises.Continue Reading …