I will be attending the Bela Fleck and the original Flecktones concert tomorrow evening, 2 December 2019, at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, https://www.strathmore.org/. While Strathmore is one of my very least favorite concert venues, both architecturally and acoustically, I do go when there is an act I really want to hear! I really, really want to hear the Flecktones!
Bela Fleck
I have been a fan following Bela Fleck throughout his broad and varied musical career, https://www.belafleck.com and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Béla_Fleck. From his work with Sam Bush and New Grass Revival, whom I have heard at bluegrass festivals in high school and college to the bluegrass/Americana melding of Strength in Numbers (SIN), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Béla_Fleck, I found him to be an excellent traditional 3-finger banjo picker and adequate vocal accompanist. More recently, he and his wife, Abigail Washburn, https://twitter.com/abigailwashburn?lang=en, have performed some excellent genre-bending music at DC’s 6th & I Historic Synagogue, an great intimate venue, which I attended.
However, my closest link with Bela and his music is in the classical music world. While he was born in NYC and later moved to Boston, he now resides in Nashville, where he and the late Music Director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO), Kenneth Schermerhorn, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Schermerhorn, formed a special bond. In fact Maestro Schermerhorn once said of Mr. Fleck after being taken to a Flecktones concert, “He’s the closest thing to a genius for someone who plays a fretted instrument.” In early 2002, my architecture firm, David M. Schwarz Architects, was commissioned to design a new concert hall for the NSO, later named the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in honor of Maestro Schermerhorn, who passed before its completion, https://www.dmsas.com/project/schermerhorn-symphony-center/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schermerhorn_Symphony_Center.
While I was working on the hall’s design, the NSO commissioned Mr. Fleck and fellow SIN alumnus, superstar bassist Edgar Meyer to compose a double concerto for bass, banjo, and orchestra. I attended the premier with my client and friend, President & CEO, Allan Valentine. Backstage after the show, I met Mr. Fleck, Mr. Meyer and Fleck’s Flecktones compatriot Futureman. A few years later, my friends and collaborators at Akustiks in Norwalk, CT, http://www.akustiks.com/, Russ Todd, Paul Scarbrough, and Chris Blair commissioned Messieurs Fleck and Meyer along with Tabla player Hakir Hussain to compose a triple concert with the NSO to open their new hall. This composition was later recorded on a CD entitle The Melody of Rhythm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Melody_of_Rhythm with the three composers as soloists and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin. As I was working at the Hall during rehearsals for the opening gala in September 2006, I got to hear the piece a few times and again at the premier. By the way, Mr. Hussain will be performing in a trio along with NEA Jazzmaster, bassist Dave Holland and saxophonist Chris Potter at GWU’s Lisner Auditorium on 24 April 2020.
Lastly, I heard Mr. Fleck and violinist Joshua Bell back at The Schermerhorn a handful of year later when the NSO returned to Mr. Fleck, asking him to write a double concert for violin, banjo, and orchestra.
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
So having seen Bela Fleck in concert eight to ten times since the early Eighties, It is hard to believe I have never seen the Flecktones, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Béla_Fleck_and_the_Flecktones. That is why I really, really want to go, despite my many misgivings about the venue. The Flecktones are Bela Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten on bass, whom I have played many times on WFPW, Victor’s brother Roy “Futureman” Wooten on drumitar, and Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboards. Over the years they have invite many guest soloists to join then on stage and in the recording studio.
I have many Flecktones’ albums, which I will share on some future program. Unfortunately, last week was my Thanksgiving show about food and drink, so I was unable to preview this exciting show for my loyal listeners. I hope some of you will join me at this concert.
Afterwards, I may feel inspired to right my first review. Stay tuned!
