Photo credit: Jim McGuire
15-time Grammy winner Béla Fleck “has taken banjo playing to some very unlikely places,”writes Jon Pareles for The New York Times. “Not just bluegrass and country and ‘newgrass,’ but also into classical concertos, jazz, and a documentary about the banjo’s deep African roots, not to mention the time he toured with throat singers from Tuva. He’s also baffled the Grammy awards, winning for country and jazz in the same year and also winning in pop, world music, classical crossover and, yes, folk. That’s a lot of territory for five strings.”
The Solo Concert will bring together all of Béla’s diverse influences to create a flowing musical statement. Striving to illuminate the possibilities of the five string banjo, Béla will use its unique properties to create new music for solo banjo, while reprising music from his 40+ years of performing
Born and raised in New York City, Béla began his musical career playing the guitar. In the early 1960’s, while watching the Beverly Hillbillies, the bluegrass sounds of Flatt & Scruggs flowed out of the TV set and into his young brain. Earl Scruggs’s banjo style hooked Béla’s interest immediately. “It was like sparks going off in my head” he later said.