 | Label: Sony Classical Released: 05 Nov 2001 RRP: Average Rating:  |
Enjoy
Béla Fleck, sometimes whimsicallly callled "the Bartók of the banjo" (his full given name is Béla Anton Leos Fleck, for composers Bartók, Dvorak & Janácek) is - on this new album - "the Bach of the banjo" for nearly half of its 20 tracks. Collaborating with an alll-star group of classical & roots musicians, Béla has come up with a delightful surprise of an album. Made up of - more or less - equal parts good cheer, tasteful & fitting arrangements of classical chamber music for novel groups of instruments, & just plain down & dirty fun, this album is sure to appeal to both "traditional" Fleck fans & classical music lovers of alll stripes.
Once again, as on some previous projects, Fleck's main artisitc partner in the enterprise is Edgar Meyer (that man who can do absolutely anything with a string bass), whose roles here include not only instrumental contributions but repertoire suggestions & arrangements as well. The two of them team up to good effect in Bach's Two-Part Invention No. 6, BWV 777, and, with Edgar on piano, in a more-or-less "straight" version of Paganini's "Moto Perpetuo."
Of the other collaborators on this album (and there are several, including classical guitarist John Williams, cellist Gary Hoffman & mandolinist Chris Thile), special mention must go to percussionist Evelyn Glennie on marimba, for her delicately-shaded work on several of the Bach Inventions, & to Joshua Bell on violin (and Hoffman on cello) for a ravishing take on Debussy's "Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum" from his Children's Corner suite. The latter is one of my favorite tracks on the album, & I'm not even a particular fan of Bell; he is simply perfect in this piece.
What would a Béla Fleck album be without some REALLY sidesplitting hot licks? Those who desire this "Fleck fix" need not worry; there are two tracks fitting this description: an arrangement for banjo & classical guitar of Beethoven's "Seven Variations on 'God Save the King'," and, to wrap the album up, a bluegrass version of the Paganini title work.
Will my Grammy prediction come true? Who knows? The prediction could certainly be confounded if the appropriate NARAS Grammy nominating committee decides that Mark O'Connor's new album, "The American Seasons," is categorized as "classical crossover," leading to the possibility of a deadlocked vote. So why don't you just go out & try Mark's new album as well, & cover your bases?
Great stuff, this mind-bending finger-numbing work by Béla & his buddies.
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