Home » Jazz Articles » Bela Fleck
Jazz Articles about Bela Fleck
Rob Silverman: Drumology Volume 3
by Jim Worsley
The beat goes on. Yes, that was a big hit for Sonny & Cher back in 1967. However, here it references the third volume of drummer Rob Silverman's Drumology series. The formula seems to be working, so why not keep pounding them out? Again all proceeds go to the Neil Peart Fund for brain cancer research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. And the core band stays intact, with Silverman being joined by brother Michael Silverman on piano and keyboards, bassist Larry ...
Continue ReadingBela Fleck and Toumani Diabate: The Ripple Effect
by Doug Collette
The Ripple Effect is the coup de grace of Bela Fleck's ten year-plus excursion into the African roots of his chosen instrument of the banjo, originally titled Throw Down Your Heart (Rounder, 2009). Part of a larger set comprised of both video and audio on DVD/CD, The Complete Africa Sessions (Craft Recordings, 2020), these ten concert culls are also available as a double set of vinyl that capture the natural, fluent chemistry between this banjoist extraordinaire and West African kora ...
Continue ReadingBela Fleck and The Marcus Roberts Trio: Oakland, CA, August 31, 2012
by Ken Vermes
Béla Fleck and Marcus RobertsYoshi'sOakland, CAAugust 31, 2012Seeing banjoist Béla Fleck and pianist Marcus Roberts is like a roller coaster ride through new musical places. The two recently gave one of the most exciting shows in Yoshi's history, just in time to celebrate the well-known club's forty year anniversary.In four decades of Yoshi's, there has rarely, if ever, been anything quite like Fleck's performance with the Marcus Roberts Trio, in support of their ...
Continue ReadingBela Fleck & The Marcus Roberts Trio: Across The Imaginary Divide
by Doug Collette
Across The Imaginary Divide, the collaboration between banjoist Béla Fleck and The Marcus Roberts Trio, is as adventurous as its title suggests. And the fruit of these four musicians' labor is as seamless as their approach is fearless.The opening moments of “Some Roads Lead Home" demonstrate that the modesty with which the foursome interacts does not belie their skills. There is no showboating, as Fleck's acoustic instrument gives way to pianist Roberts' and their fluidity carries over to ...
Continue ReadingBela Fleck (BEY-Lah Fleck): See Curious, Creative Mind
by R.J. DeLuke
Béla Fleck has taken his instrument--the banjo--to heights that seemed unimaginable prior to couple decades ago. There have been virtuoso players in its long history, but the sounds Fleck elicits through electronics, and the musical landscapes he treads upon, are groundbreaking.He's got all that in his pocket. But as a twenty-something musician whose prowess was gaining notoriety with the bluegrass crossover band New Grass Revival, Fleck still had his heart set on other things. He had a wider ...
Continue ReadingBela Fleck: Rocket Science
by Doug Collette
The musicianship on Béla Fleck and The Flecktones' Rocket Science radiates a sense of play that was missing from the group's last recorded work The Hidden Land (Columbia, 2006). There's also a sense of adventure here that hasn't really been in evidence since Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Warner Bros, 1993), the first album recorded after the departure of original Flecktone Howard Levy. After an eighteen-year absence, Levy is back in the fold on this record and ...
Continue ReadingBela Fleck & The Flecktones: Rocket Science
by John Kelman
Béla Fleck & The Flecktones Rocket Science E One Music Group 2011 Some say you can't go back, but that's not always true. Emerging from his formative years as a rising star in the blue/newgrass community, banjoist Béla Fleck lept onto a much bigger radar with the release of Béla Fleck & The Flecktones (Warner Bros., 1990), after forming the group in 1988. Stretching and, in some cases, breaking down the boundaries of jazz, ...
Continue Reading
