by Nick StubblefieldJim McGuire, symphonyspace.org
Growing up in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, I heard more than my fair-share of banjo picking. But. it wasn't until a few years ago that I first heard the music of Béla Fleck, when a friend linked me to some material from his now dis-banded Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. The Flecktones played a unique blend of post-modern funk, jazz, and "new-grass" in bizarrely unpredictable time signatures on unconventional instruments, like bassoon, steel pans, oboe, and tablas.
Fleck's new project with his wife, fellow banjoist Abigail Washburn, is a bit more subdued, rooted deeply in traditional old-time music. Performing Wednesday night at Symphony Space in support of their new album, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, they kicked off with a medley of old-timey favorites "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah," and "I've Been Working on the Railroad," playing them with haunting, soulful, and progressive re-harmonizations. Washburn's folksy but soulful vocals were a beautiful complement to each tune. The banjo-on-banjo interplay also worked well, due perhaps to their different playing styles: Fleck plays with a 3-finger picking style, while Washburn uses a clawhammer style.
Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage for NPR.org
Despite the old-fashioned feel of the show, the banjo virtuosos kept it fresh by mixing in a number of originals. Washburn's "Shotgun Blues" was a darkly humorous murder ballad, while the joint-composed "Banjo Banjo" was an up-tempo favorite. As a treat for long-time fans, Béla took an extended solo number for himself that drew influences from both J.S. Bach and traditional bluegrass. Washburn later joined in on a new rendition of the classic Flecktones' tune, "New South Africa."
Fleck, an Upper-West Side native, had many members of his family, friends, and even some teachers in the audience, giving the show the special air of a homecoming.