Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

In 2024, Béla Fleck founded the BEATrio, which set the genre-bending banjo master alongside harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez for a six-night residency at Blue Note New York. Today, he’s shared “Western and Walnut,” the second preview single from the celebrated group’s self-titled debut album, set to release on May 16 via his Béla Fleck Productions imprint on Thirty Tigers.

“Walnut and Western” is a tune I have had for many years that’s been looking for a home, and the right band,” Fleck shared in a release. “I am positive that this is the best setting it could have, and thrilled that I waited! Antonio and Edmar knew exactly what to do.”

BEATrio follows the swift and unpredictable advance offering “Archipelago,” with each instrumentalist once again weaving gracefully through their collaborators’ lines to create a percussive, high-spirited pulse. Sánchez provides a fleet-footed rhythmic counterpoint to the string interplay from Castañeda and Fleck that reworks Americana influences into an original style with a progressive impulse that recalls Fleck’s fusion background. At its apex, the dynamic, impassioned exchange the performers carry on is downright hypnotic

“This project kind of reminds me of the early days of the Flecktones, when audiences would go, ‘How is this supposed to work?’” Béla Fleck remarked of the bold configuration in a release. “We were hanging on for dear life. Things were going right, things were going wrong — everything was happening.”  

“After playing a duo concert with Edmar, it became clear that we needed to write together, in order to accommodate the needs of harp and banjo,” Fleck detailed. “This is our first attempt—sometimes you get lucky, before you think too much about it!”

“Each night felt like an adventure, and it was special to see the audience experience the music’s evolution, Castañeda said of the Blue Note series. “I play the groove with my left hand with Antonio, while at the same time I play melodies and harmonies with my right hand and with Béla — a very fun challenge that makes a unique and powerful trio.” According to Sánchez, the harpist is “the glue between the banjo and the drums… he functions as the harmony and the bass.”

BEATrio will take their elaborate harmony on the road this summer with a tour that begins on May 11 in Tarrytown, NY. Subsequent stops include Japan, Seoul Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Telluride and a high-billed appearance at Newport Jazz Festival. Tickets are on sale now.

BEATrio is available to pre-order now. Stream “Walnut and Western” on all streaming platforms, and visit belafleck.com for more information on the project.