There are a lot of banjo jokes in the world. After all, it's an easy instrument to make fun of—easy, that is, until one hears a master like Bela Fleck play it. But even Fleck knows the instrument is not universally beloved. As he says below, “some people just love it, and some don't.” Fleck's new tour, which will come...
Bela Fleck
There are a lot of banjo jokes in the world. After all, it's an easy instrument to make fun of—easy, that is, until one hears a master like Bela Fleck play it.
But even Fleck knows the instrument is not universally beloved. As he says below, “some people just love it, and some don't.” Fleck's new tour, which will come to the Calvin Theatre on Friday at 8 p.m., is sure to win some new converts. He has assembled a banjo ensemble representing the best in many genres of music. His Banjo Summit features fellow pickers Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Richie Stearns, Eric Weissberg, and Noam Pikelny.
Fleck answered a few questions last week about the tour.
You put together quite an impressive group for this tour. Talk a little about how and why you put it together and what its like to have so many different styles of playing together on one stage.
I wish I could take credit for the group, but the creation was a collaboration with Peter Lesser, Tony Trischka and myself. About 10 years ago Peter brought us all together to do a NY banjo show at his venue in Albany called the Egg. Last year he asked us if we'd like to celebrate the anniversary of that show with a little tour. Together we put together a reduced version of the line-up and took it on the road for 10 shows in November. Then Hurricane Sandy struck and three shows were cancelled. This tour we are playing the rescheduled shows and a couple extras, like Northampton, which I have loved to play in for so long.
The great thing about this tour is the camaraderie of the banjo that we all feel, and the chance to bring it out on stage with us. We all share a slight feeling of being discriminated against because of our instrument's preconceptions, so being together is very special. We have Bill Keith who pioneered the modern banjo styles, Eric Weissberg, who innovated and brought immense popularity to the banjo with his mega hit “Dueling Banjos,” claw-hammer groover and genre-buster Richie Stearns, the incredible banjo creative force known as Tony Trischka (my teacher) and a young tyke named Noam Pikelny, who is breaking new ground with the incredible Punch Brothers and in his solo albums and tours. And then there's me, acting as a part host and playing a solo set, and interacting with everyone. There's a lot of variety and we also have a great house band featuring Russ Barenberg, on guitar, Alex Hargreaves on fiddle, Corey DiMario on bass, and Jesse Cobb on mandolin, all of them fantastic musicians.
Is it fun to have Tony Trischka on tour with you, since he was your former teacher? Tell me what that's like now, and how he influenced your playing when you were his student.
Tony is one of my very favorite musicians in the world, and also one of my favorite people and one of my very best friends. We relish the opportunity to play together and just be in the same place, because it's rare nowadays. He has influenced me more than any other musician. I loved studying with him, and felt very fortunate to get to do so.
I'd say that every banjo player on this tour has a special relationship with each of the others, which makes it very rich, and happy.
One name that younger people may not be familiar with (even though they've heard his work) is Eric Weissberg, who was famous for the "Dueling Banjos" hit. Talk a little bit about what kind of influence he had on bringing banjos to the fore of popular music.
Eric was the right guy at the right time to get the banjo in that film, and he played beautifully, I must add. He was a king studio session guy in NYC for decades. Anything
requiring banjo, pedal steel, fiddle, guitar, dobro, or mandolin went to him. He also made a cutting edge banjo album called 'New Dimensions in 5-String Banjo' way back in the '60s? This album was widely loved and was very influential, a great album.
What's been the best part of this tour so far?
It's the best hang ever, for all of us. When Sandy hit and we had to take shelter for three days in Pennsylvania, we had a lovely time anyway, jamming and hanging out. The shows were really fun too. I remember playing in Ithaca, Richie's home town was a highlight too, although every show was special.
When you were first starting in the business, did you ever foresee the kind of success banjo has enjoyed? What is it about the banjo that you think people respond to?
Banjo is one of those iconic instruments that will always have a place in our crazy world. It's a reminder of older days, and a corridor leading to the next millennium.
It's a great way to track history, through the progress of this instrument. But honestly, some people just love it, and some don't.
For the people who aren't sure which one they are - this is great show to come to. OIf you don't love something you hear here, you are excused from all future banjo concerts!