Althouse: "Live Performance and Q&A With the Banjoist Béla Fleck."

April 5, 2017

"Live Performance and Q&A With the Banjoist Béla Fleck."

16 comments:

Crimso said...: Been digging Bela since he was in Newgrass Revival.; 4/5/17, 6:56 PM
Quayle said...: A pioneer.

My personal fav is Star of the County Down from the set "flight of the cosmic hippo."; 4/5/17, 6:56 PM
Bob R said...: Have tickets to see him and Chris Thile next month.

For anyone who likes banjo - check out Noam Pikelny's truly solo album, Universal Favorite. (The world will be a better place when Pikelny's name covers the first page of google on the world "Noam."); 4/5/17, 6:59 PM
Christy said...: Big fan of Fleck, but couldn't access video. What was it caught your attention?; 4/5/17, 7:10 PM
Lyle Sanford, RMT said...: Thanks so much for putting this up. Thought I'd just check out the first few minutes and ended up watching it all. What a nice guy - and what mastery of his instrument.; 4/5/17, 7:43 PM
robinintn said...: Used to see him both playing, and just being around nashville in the late 80s. Everyone knew he was a damn talent, but there's a lot of that around here. Mostly, he was a nice boy we were glad run into and talk with.; 4/5/17, 7:44 PM
Chuck said...: So the Masters golf tournament is on this week. And there was an old commercial that ran during the Masters telecast about eight years ago; I think it may have been for the Travelers insurance company. (It was a gorgeous ad; almost no speech, just early morning film of the golf course and the music linked below.)

The music in the advertisement was Bela Fleck, from his masterful album, "Perpetual Motion."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxavhjb_7JU; 4/5/17, 8:16 PM
Chuck said...: Correction: it was this track, from "Perpetual Motion" (they are all so brilliant!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSdVJEmcyCU; 4/5/17, 8:25 PM
mezzrow said...: Chops for days, a vision, and the ability to communicate both with and without a banjo in his hands.

Thanks, Bela. Keep up the good work. Saw him first in a Kentucky bar playing with New Grass Revival in the 70s. He's always been something special.; 4/5/17, 8:55 PM
dwick said...: mezzrow said 4/5/17, 8:55 PM...
"Saw him first in a Kentucky bar playing with New Grass Revival in the 70s..."

Now wait a minute... Fleck lived in NYC and didn't even start playing the banjo until late 1973 when he was 15 - he went to Boston in the late 1970s after graduating high school. Sam Bush didn't ask Béla to join New Grass Revival until 1981 after Fleck had been in a couple Boston-based groups and recorded a solo album.; 4/5/17, 11:39 PM
eddie willers said...: He was a member of the Bluegrass/Fusion Supergroup, "Strength In Numbers".

The line up?

Béla Fleck
Mark O'Connor
Sam Bush
Jerry Douglas
Edgar Meyer

The marvelous album, The Telluride Sessions, was finally put on CD. Available through Althouse's portal, I'm sure.; 4/6/17, 12:40 AM
madison mike said...: I never heard of him until he and the Flecktones opened for an acapella group across from the Madison Civic Center 20-30 years ago. He knocked my socks off. Later I came across a video of Natalie Mc Master and him playing in a small town hall in Natalie's hometown in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; 4/6/17, 6:09 AM
mezzrow said...: @dwick

You sir, are correct. I guess it might have been the early 80s. It's been awhile ago. I'm sure I was in Kentucky, though...

Thanks for the temporal reset.; 4/6/17, 6:31 AM
Jason said...: If you like Bela, check out Alison Brown and Jens Krueger. Especially the latter. I've seen Jens do pure magic with a banjo in his hands. One of the best musicians I've ever seen.; 4/6/17, 8:23 AM
LCB said...: Love Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.; 4/6/17, 9:50 AM
MagicalPat said...: Bob R:

Saw Noam Pikelny in a small venue a couple of weeks back. Pure magic.

Haven't removed the Universal Favorite from my CD player since.; 4/6/17, 3:12 PM