The musical odyssey of Béla Fleck continues with the debut performance of his Concerto for Banjo and Orchestra with the Nashville Symphony on September 22-24 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The collaboration is an inspired choice, and marks another milestone for Fleck, who is already ensconced in a full-scale reunion album, Rocket Science, and tour with the original Flecktones in 2011.
“The tour has been fantastic,” said Fleck in an interview with Jambands.com during rehearsals for the pending concerto performances. “Every show we push it a little further, and I feel that we have taken the album versions, and pushed them into new fertile ground. And we had a lot of fun being together again.”
Indeed, the quartet featuring Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten on bass, Roy “Futureman” Wooten on percussion and Drumitar, and Howard Levy on piano and harmonica have found a fresh language while playing new material with the sense of urgency sometimes lacking in a collection of old friends. This collaboration…well, just works. “After Jeff Coffin joined the Dave Matthews Band,” explained Fleck, “we had an opening in the group. We all felt that Howard was at the top of our wish list to have as a new member. Of course he played with us for about five years when the band started, and he was an architect of our original sound. The harmonica and piano, mixed with the banjo, electric bass and electric drums created a real template for the band.”
That sense of what works and what should be altered, enhanced, or just plain changed was quite evident once Levy moved onwards. “When he left, he couldn’t be replaced,” admitted Fleck, “so we moved into a different sound, which was also a lot of fun. But it wasn’t ‘that sound’. So now it is ‘that sound’, once again. Sessions went great; they were our re-introduction to each other, and a very creative time.”
Which makes the world premiere of Fleck’s concerto even more startling, since it takes place amidst a year that has seen such groundbreaking new work from the Flecktones. The writing process has been focused and determined for Fleck as he slipped in and out of his various bandleader/composer roles to find a voice for his new creation.
“I started writing the concerto in October of last year,” detailed Fleck, “and have been fixating on it in every spare moment. I had a first draft ready in May, and did some rewrites and rebalancing after hearing it with the symphony at a run through. This is a piece I have wanted to do for a long time, and though I have co-written two concertos for banjo, one with bass and one with banjo, bass and tabla, there is not a stand alone banjo concert in the repertoire, and I really thought it was time. Luckily the Nashville Symphony agreed, and commissioned the work. It is fitting that the piece happens here in Nashville, a town with a long banjo history.”
That sense of history is evidenced by one of the concerto’s muse, in a way. “I have dedicated the piece to Earl Scruggs,” said Fleck, “who has lived here since the 1940s, and who continues to be an inspiration to so many musicians.”
Fleck’s current concerto has a precedent when one looks back to Fleck’s 2001 release Perpetual Motion, a work that combined his talents and training on the banjo with the sometimes perilous high wire act of classical music composition. “It was the most ambitious technical project I had ever taken on,” admitted Fleck. “In learning the great classical pieces by Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Beethoven and others, it put their music under my fingers for the first time, and therefore into my brain. It was a great way to become intimate with some of the greatest music ever. It also reminds me to not to be scared to write complex long forms.”
This makes one ponder if there are similarities between classical music and some of the music Fleck has played in the past. If so, what are the distinctions between improvisational and classical music? What brings those two worlds together?
“In classical music these days,” offered Fleck, “the improvisation is not about the notes played; it’s about what you do with those notes spontaneously—the feel, the nuance. These can be different every time. In the old days, classical musicians did improvise cadenzas. In jazz and bluegrass and Indian music, improvisation is a key element and is taught, and expected. That being said, it is the same twelve notes that we are talking about.”
Which, again, brings it all back home to why Fleck would dedicate his new concerto to another legendary banjoist, Earl Scruggs. “I would not have played the banjo at all, if it were not for Earl,” admitted Fleck, “so that’s one thing. His innovative and soulful style set the stage for the modern banjo. All the roads that I travel, he traveled before me. So it isn’t that this is a bluegrass banjo concerto or something written using Earl’s language, but none of it could have happened without Earl. Everything I do is built on his foundation.”
And when the thoughts turn to the banjo in question, inevitably Fleck’s choice comes to mind as being another source of artistic pride and joy. “The banjo that I play is a 1937 Gibson Mastertone Style 75,” detailed Fleck. “It is called a Style 75 because it cost $75 in those days! Now it is worth more like $90,000. But the real worth is in its sound. This banjo has been my friend since 1981, and its amazing sound and depth has become my voice. I can get a variety of tones out of it and it projects really well and can be set up to be very dark and non abrasive while still staying very clear. I love that instrument.”
Fleck’s eclectic tastes in collaboration go far beyond the “variety of tones” he can conjure from his 1937 Gibson Masterton Style 75. For example, one of his most inspired collaborations dates back 30 years. “I have been playing with Edgar Meyer since the early 1980’s,” explained Fleck, “and he inspires and pushes me, and I try to do the same
for him. Zakir Hussain came into it when we got to write our triple concerto, and I certainly learned a lot getting to write with them both. Then we went out and did a lot of trio touring, where we could really improvise and develop that part of our collaboration.”
Recently, he also worked on a film project, which offered a unique look into the origins of the banjo in Africa, while exploring a little known musical culture in 2009’s Throw Down Your Heart —a familial affair, directed by Fleck’s brother, Sascha Paladino. “That was one of the greatest things I have experienced,” enthused Fleck, “and in a lot of different ways. Collaborating with these fantastic musicians—and people—from Africa was very precious. I miss them too! It’s too bad all of these projects can’t go on forever, but the fact that they are for defined periods does really make it special. And this Flecktone reunion proves that you can go back home!”
Those sorts of collaborations infuse his current work, as well, as the juggling of concerto/symphonic work and Flecktones’ full tour card attests. “Flecktones play through April [2012],” explained Fleck, “and then we are done for this project. I already miss the guys, and we still have six months to go! I am getting opportunities to play the concerto, and hope that I will be doing a lot of that in fall and spring.”
The legendary banjo player has created an impressive array of composed and improvisational music, which spans several decades at this point. The creative line is still very much open to his muse after all these years, and that sense of purpose, that note of wonder, whether it be a piece for four, six, or an entire symphony coupled with a banjo, continues for the musician as he heads into 2012 after another creatively-impressive year. “I think the trick for me is to stay engaged,” concluded Fleck, “and always have something off in the distance to be excited about. If I am always doing something special, and thinking about something special for the future, it is an awesome life.”
