Since the late ’50s Mark Murphy has been a stalwart of the crooner set. A jazz singer with an exquisite style that pushed the edges and split the critics, making him a real musician’s musician. A contemporary of the Rat Pack and the rock opera with an affinity for the Beats and be-bop, Murphy defied category–freeform vocalese with a rich timbre that let forth expressive colors that were alluring, audacious, and even shocking.
Despite multiple Grammy nods, he was largely relegated to the fringes. Then came the ’80s, Gilles Peterson, the Acid Jazz movement, electronica, London, Japan, Scandinavia, Asia, Europe, the 21st Century and beyond, literally. With new musical freedoms Murphy took the vocal arts light years ahead.
We welcome back Gilles Peterson, who was instrumental in this phase of the singer’s life and career, to share his experiences and shed light on the music that bookended this extraordinary artist’s legacy. Featuring collaborations with 4Hero, United Future Organization, the Five Corners Quintet, and more. Continue Reading …
We’ve always dug Kyle Eastwood’s soulful bop style, but his latest album 
In this episode of the Major Scale we have Nobody… no, it’s not a scheduling snafu, it’s Elvin Estela, an artist who goes by the moniker of Nobody. For over 20 years he’s been fighting the good fight by composing amazing music that ranges from the outer reaches of psychedelic infused hip hop to rare groove suites of the highest order. We’ve been dying to talk to him since The Major Scale started and on this episode he joins us to wax poetic on music, influences, ‘90s college radio, and other things all too familiar.