Bela Fleck: As We Speak

As We Speak is an emphatic continuation of banjoist Bela Fleck's eclectic adventures dating back to his high school days. It is thus only fitting that this LP's title alludes to the ongoing artistic process wherein creativity can ensue, virtually non-stop, no matter what other dialogue(s) might be going on at the time.

In fact, the trio of Fleck, tabla master Zakir Hussain and bassist Edgar Meyer have collaborated in the past—see The Melody of Rhythm (Koch, 2009). But whereas that project involved The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, this title incorporates bansurist Rakesh Chaurasia, whose instrument lends an alternately ghostly and fanciful air to the proceedings via "Motion" and "The B Tune," among others

Mirroring the mesh of blurred images on the album cover, this quartet's fusion of Indian and Western classical musics, bluegrass and jazz brings to mind the late keyboardist/composer Joe Zawinul's comment about Weather Report, the ensemble he led with saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter; to paraphrase, Fleck, Hussain, Meyer and Chaurasia sound like they're always soloing, but never soloing.

During the fleet and graceful interactions that comprise "J Bhai," for instance, economy and self-discipline coexist with utter abandon in such a way as to ignite not only the musicians' collective and individual imaginations, but mostly likely those of listeners as well. And while "Tradewinds Bengali" conjures exotic realms, the undercurrent of gaiety within "Rickety Karma" also injects a measure of levity into the proceedings that precludes anything overly serious from radiating out of this or the total dozen tracks.

Produced by Fleck (who also co-engineered with his long-time sonic guru Richard Battaglia), various compositional combinations of the three principals supply the source material of a sumptuous seventy-five minute program worth savoring repeatedly in its entirety. It is a credit to these artists that, even when the interplay becomes frenetic, as on "Pashto," they never succumb to the temptation to outplay each other.

Likewise, in the comparatively restful form of "1989," this is music that lives and breathes as a direct expression of each musician's working experience and, to only a slightly lesser extent, the shared history of Fleck, Meyer and Hussain. And while there is a dignified formality to some intervals like that aforementioned track, a decided whimsy flows as well, again thanks in large measure to the airy textures Chausari unfurls with his flute.

In the end, the four-way generation of these colorful sounds on As We Speak is at once insinuating and transportive. These are four musicians who, above all else, simply love to play, perhaps never more than when they do here with such intuitive fluidity.

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