Béla Fleck

Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.

Early life and career details

Béla Fleck was born in New York City, and is named after Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, Austrian composer Anton Webern and Czech composer Leoš Janáček. He was raised by his mother, a former school teacher, and claims he did not meet his father until he was in his 40s. He was drawn to the banjo when he first heard Earl Scruggs play the theme song for the television show Beverly Hillbillies. He received his first banjo at age fifteen from his grandfather in 1973. Later, Fleck enrolled in New York City's High School of Music and Art where he studied the French horn. He was a banjo student under Tony Trischka.

Shortly after high school, Fleck traveled to Boston to play with Jack Tottle, Pat Enright, and Mark Schatz in the group Tasty Licks. During this period, Fleck released his first solo album in 1979, Crossing the Tracks, and made his first foray into progressive bluegrass composition.

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is a primarily instrumental group from the United States, that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion and post-bop, sometimes dubbed "blu-bop". The band formed in 1988, to perform on the PBS series Lonesome Pine Specials. The Flecktones consist of Béla Fleck on acoustic and electric banjo, Victor Wooten on bass, his brother, Roy Wooten (a.k.a. Future Man) on Drumitar, Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboard and Jeff Coffin on saxophone The Flecktones have toured extensively since then, often playing over 200 concerts per year. Each of the current members of the quartet has released at least one solo album. The band's name is a play on the name of the 1960s rock band Dick Dale and the Del-Tones.

History

Formative Years: 1988–1992

While the Flecktones performed together for the first time in 1988 during an episode of the Lonesome Pine Special, in a 1992 interview, Fleck traces the formation of the band to 1987:

Following their performance on Lonesome Pine Special, the Flecktones played 9 tour dates during November 1989.

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (album)

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is the first album by the band of the same name, released in 1990. It reached number 17 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. At the Grammy Awards of 1997, a live version of "The Sinister Minister", a track from the album, won the Best Pop Instrumental Performance award.

Reception

In his Allmusic review, music critic Brian Mansfield praised the album and wrote "For all the flash, there's little pretense; the group's astonishing musicianship keeps an "aw-shucks" accessibility that lets everybody follow the melody while they marvel."

Track listing

All songs by Béla Fleck unless otherwise noted.