Local pannist Jonathan Scales recently released a music video — a short film, really — for the song “Fake Buddha’s Inner Child” off his recently released album Pillar. The film, directed by Daniel Judson, features a number of artists from the Asheville music scene — in acting roles — including Reggie Tidwell, Jaze Uries, Derrick Johnson, Debrissa McKinney and Ryan Barber, among others.
“The story for the video was inspired by Jonathan’s music at large,” explains Judson. “Using a Caribbean folk instrument to play modern, composed jazz seems like a conflict of musical traditions, but it creates a beautiful offspring; however, this fusion is not fully accepted by purists in either camp.”
He continues, “I had been wanting to shoot something in Edisto Island, S.C., for a long time, which is where half the video takes place. Thinking about the natural beauty of the location, specifically the live oaks along Plantation Road at Botany Bay, it feels like a portal to another time. That was an image that opened up the idea of exploring the heritage of Jonathan’s music in the form of a character reflecting on his own beginnings, uncovering his roots amidst a conflict between characters who represent a dominant culture of rigid assimilation and a feared but vital lineage of magical folk healing.”
The Jonathan Scales Fourchestra performs at Diana Wortham Theatre on Saturday, May 4, 8 p.m. The show is a benefit for the Youth Education Scholarship Fund. Info here.
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