Premiere banjo player Béla Fleck is considered one of the most innovative pickers in the world and has done much to demonstrate the versatility of his instrument, which he uses to play everything from traditional bluegrass to progressive jazz. He was named after composer Béla Bartok and was born in New York City. Around age 15, Fleck became fascinated with the banjo after hearing Flatt & Scruggs' "Ballad of Jed Clampett" and Weissberg & Mandell's "Dueling Banjos," and his grandfather soon gave him one. While attending the High School of Music and Art in New York, Fleck worked on adapting bebop music for the banjo. Fleck always had diverse musical interests, and his own style was influenced by Tony Trischka, Earl Scruggs, Chick Corea, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, the Allman Brothers, Aretha Franklin, the Byrds, and Little Feat.
Fleck was asked by PBS television to play on the upcoming "Lonesome Pine Special." In response, he gathered together a veritable "dream team" of musicians to form the Flecktones. The original members included Howard Levy, who played piano, harmonica, and ocarina, among other instruments; bass guitarist Victor Lemonte Wooten, and his brother Roy "Future Man" Wooten on the drumitar, an electronic drum shaped like a guitar. Though the special wasn't aired until 1992, the Flecktones recorded their eponymous debut album in 1990 and followed it up with "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" (1991). In 1993, they released their fourth album, "UFO Tofu," which featured music blending different genres ranging from bluegrass to R&B to worldbeat. In 1995, they released "Tales From an Acoustic Planet: Left of Cool" followed in 1998, and "Tales From an Acoustic Planet 2: The Bluegrass Sessions" was released a year later. "Outbound" followed in mid-2000.
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posted by ADMIN @ Sunday, December 04, 2005
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