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The Major Scale – The Midnight Hour & David Liebman

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PFT Media Podcast NetworkThe wee hours have brought the creative inspiration for eons and this episode takes that setting to heart. 

First up is the aptly named Midnight Hour, a dynamic duo of Ali Shaheed Muhammed (A Tribe Called Quest) and Adrian Younge (Black Dynamite), together you will recognize them as the creators behind the breathtaking Luke Cage soundtrack. They also helm this amazing collective that has released two live recordings of dark, spacey grooves with a brow-raising list of collaborators–from neo-soul auteur Raphael Saadiq to Stereolab’s Laetia Sadier–with more work on the horizon. 

The second segment is a real honor, as we’re joined by the incomparable David Liebman. Alumni of the electric Miles Davis period, and one of the early foot soldiers of jazz-rock, Liebman is both an innovator and a band leader in his own right. He hits us to the core with Earth, the final installment of a series based on the elements with a heady groove and deep future music vibe. There’s no other way to describe it than “pure dope.”Continue Reading …

The Major Scale – African-American Art in the 20th Century in the Sunshine State

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PFT Media Podcast Network

The Major Scale is proud to present a three-part special for Cornell Fine Arts Museum’s exhibit African American Art in the 20th Century, on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It’s a bounty of bold and brilliant masterworks that showcases paintings and sculptures from 32 African American artists. In our special series, we delve into the stories that tie together the exhibit’s themes, including jazz and civil rights, as well as the music with the show’s curator, Virginia Mecklenburg.

Part 3:

Among the many amazing artists in the exhibit is Purvis Young, a native to Florida. We thought it apt since the exhibit since both Cornell Fine Arts Museum and the Major Scale are based in Central Florida that we take the time to explore some of the regional roots. Young, the term “Outsider Art”, and the legendary Highwaymen are on the table for conversation as well as some of the Sunshine State’s – Slim Galliard, Fats Navarro, Charles Tolliver, Gigi Gryce, Pee-Wee Ellis, Archie Shepp, and more.

This special series is a must for curious eardrums.Continue Reading …

The Major Scale – Karl Denson & Allison Miller

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PFT Media Podcast NetworkWhen one wants to find out where the “mainstream” gets its lifeblood, simply look outside and underground–there you’ll find all the hidden gems and roads less taken. Karl Denson is an artist who has operated in both of these worlds since the 1980s. His saxophone is the first choice of Lenny Kravitz and the Rolling Stones, to name a few, and on the flip side he cuts with Andy Bey and the Greyboy All-Stars. Then there’s his own stunning discography… Funk, blues, rock steady, and loads of soul make up the music of Karl Denson, along with some gnomes and badgers, which he’ll explain in the segment.
One thing we’re proud to brag about here at the Major Scale are some of the artists we’ve featured from the late night talk show scene: such as Grace Kelly and Jon Lampley from Stay Human of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Thanks to a suggestion by Hillary Donnell, we can now add Allison Miller to the list. She’s one of the rotating drummers from Late Night with Seth Meyers, and upon listening to her work you can tell why she get’s the gig. Or simply ask Ani DiFranco and Dr. Lonnie Smith, some of the other excellent talent she’s held her own with. Miller’s band is called Boom Tic Boom and they’re on a roll with their latest album “Glitter Wolf.”

The Major Scale – Delvon LaMarr Organ Trio & Brother Jack McDuff

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PFT Media Podcast NetworkThe Hammond B-3 organ gets some big love in this episode. First up is the Delvon LaMarr Organ Trio and their debut album Close But No Cigar, a Billboard #1 in the jazz charts. The band takes the well honed sound and constructs an incredibly funky outing that comes off like a live mixtape. It harkens the spirit and quotes from the titans of B-3 like Booker T. and the MG’s, the Incredible Jimmy Smith, and Brother Jack McDuff.

Speaking of which, The Major Scale has been waxing on for a long time about the need to spread the word on Brother Jack McDuff’s overlooked spaced-out jams of the late ’60s and early ’70s. We take a look at a trio of albums he cut for Blue Note during this period: Moon Rappin’, To Seek A New Home, and Who Knows What Tomorrow’s Gonna Bring? Unlike his other work, these albums don’t turn up often on playlists, but when they do they dazzle and delight with their surreal soul and hard driving funk. Crate-diggers and producers have looked to these records since the dawn of hip-hop; just ask, J Dilla, Nas (who’s father plays on one of the albums) A Tribe Called Quest, or Black Moon.