Béla Fleck with Symphony
Photo by Brandon Marshall.
Bio
Just in case you aren't familiar with Béla Fleck, there are some who say he's the world’s premier banjo player. Others claim that Béla has virtually reinvented the image and the sound of the banjo through a remarkable performing and recording career that has taken him all over the musical map and on a range of solo projects and collaborations. If you are familiar with Béla, you know that he just loves to play the banjo, often reimagining it in unique settings.
The 18-time Grammy Award winner has been nominated in more categories than any other artist in Grammy history, and remains a powerfully creative force globally in bluegrass, jazz, classical pop, rock and world beat.
Any world-class musician born with the names Béla (for Bartok), Anton (for Dvorak) and Leos (for Janacek) would seem destined to play classical music. Fleck made the classical connection with Perpetual Motion, his critically acclaimed 2001 Sony Classical recording that went on to win a pair of Grammys, including Best Classical Crossover Album. Collaborating with Fleck on Perpetual Motion was his long-time friend and colleague, Edgar Meyer, an amazing bassist/composer whose virtuosity defies labels.
In 2011, Fleck premiered his first stand-alone banjo concerto, The Impostor, with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, which commissioned the work. It has now been performed over 50 times worldwide.
In 2016, the impact of fatherhood sparked Juno Concerto, a piece for banjo and orchestra, recorded with the Colorado Symphony and conducted by José Luis Gomez. Companion pieces to the Juno Concerto include “Griff” (G riff), featuring Béla with the Brooklyn Rider string quartet.
In 2023, Fleck premiered his version of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Nashville Symphony and his banjo interpretation of the piano part.Fleck went on to expand and explore Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with an album by the same name in February 2024. Released for the iconic work’s centennial, the album pays homage to the legendary composer while redefining an American classic, growing from seminal idea to fruition through Fleck’s blend of inspiration, fearlessness, discipline and respect for the source material.
Music
Rhapsody in blue
Released 2024
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Béla Fleck Juno Concerto
Released 2016
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The Impostor
Released 2013