Fall Arts Preview: A Plucky Fella

Bela Fleck (Handout photo)

Bela Fleck has revolutionized the banjo as we know it.

Mention the banjo to most people and what generally comes to mind is the themes from the old TV sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies” or the film “Deliverance.”

But for Bela Fleck, the popularity and essence of the banjo extends far beyond American bluegrass music. And he has single-handedly reinvented the instrument.

“The banjo is one of those incredible ancient sounds which occurs in every culture,” says Fleck, who on Nov. 9 will bring his unique blend of jazz and bluegrass to the Gordon Center for Performing Arts in Owings Mills. Performing with him will be his wife, singer-songwriter and fellow banjoist Abigail Washburn.

A 15-time Grammy Award winner, Fleck, 59, has collaborated with musicians such as jazz great Chick Corea, recorded albums for Sony Classical and issued releases with his category-defying band The Flecktones.

Over the years, Fleck has shared the stage with the Dave Matthews Band, Sting, Bonnie Raitt and the Grateful Dead. His music has spanned genres ranging from pop to free-form jazz.

Fleck grew up in New York City, immersed in the arts. “Being Jewish and growing up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan meant there was always a lot of culture,” Fleck writes in an email to Jmore. “There was a lot of appreciation of music and the arts, and intelligence in general.”

You can probably guess how Fleck’s mother, a New York City schoolteacher, reacted when she heard that her son planned to forgo college to travel the world with a banjo on his knee.

But perhaps she should have expected Fleck would grow up to be a musician. After all, Fleck, whose middle names are Anton and Leos, was named after Hungarian composer Bela Bartok, Austrian composer and conductor Anton Webern, and Czech composer Leos Janacek.

As for his love of banjo? Fleck says he was first exposed to the instrument as a child when hearing Earl Scruggs’ three-finger banjo picking on – yes, you guessed it! — The Beverly Hillbillies.”

Fleck got his first banjo — a gift from his grandfather — in 1973. During his high school years at New York City’s High School of Music & Art, Fleck experimented with playing bebop jazz on the banjo. By 1976, he was playing professionally, and five years later Fleck joined the progressive bluegrass band New Grass Revival, where he made a name for himself in the American country-bluegrass genre.

Fleck keeps up a near-constant touring and recording schedule. “I love music, and I am also one of those driven types,” says Fleck. “I am constantly trying to convince myself that I am worthwhile. I use that as a fuel to propel my music forward, and I’m always attempting to do things which, if I succeeded, would impress myself.”

As for Fleck’s mom, she has long since forgiven him for skipping college. In fact, he says, she is now his biggest fan.

For tickets and information, visit gordoncenter.com.

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