Bela Fleck
Bela Fleck
Béla Anton Leoš Fleckis an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBanjo Player
Date of Birth10 July 1958
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
roots united-states slave
There are a lot of chapters to the banjo's history. Part of it are the roots in Africa, where it's a more primitive instrument. Then it comes to the United States where it morphs into the slave music that they created here, which was very African in origin.
people southern style
And then Earl Scruggs comes along and transforms the banjo into a virtuosic modern instrument. For the first time, the Southern banjo style becomes the identity of the banjo, and everything from before is wiped off of people's consciousness by the power of that explosion.
new-york looks inspired
Being from New York, I wonder why am I inspired by bluegrass and Earl Scruggs? But when I look at the whole history of the banjo, I feel really good about it, including the Earl Scruggs part.
crazy hip-hop guy
There's a lot of hip-hop that would be great with a banjo in it. It would just groove like crazy, and I hope I get to be one of the guys who does that, because it's coming. It's coming.
stress thinking play
When I play my own music, or when I play new music, there's much more stress and intensity of thinking about how I'm going to make it work!
thinking roots mixtures
I think the Flecktones are a mixture of acoustic and electronic music with a lot of roots in folk and bluegrass as well as funk and jazz.
inspiring music happy-music
It doesn't have to be happy music to be inspiring.
creative doubt suggestions
I doubt anybody would have pushed me [on the music]. When I was at Sony nobody ever gave me any creative suggestions on the music.
thinking years white
I think it is very ironic that most people think that the banjo is a southern white instrument. It came from Africa and even for the first years that white people played banjo they would put on blackface.
people trying i-can
I always try to work with people who are better than me, so I can learn more.
memories powerful years
My most powerful memory was hearing Earl Scruggs on 'The Beverly Hillbillies' as a 5 or 6 year old. That sound just blew me away, shook my head up.
american-musician music
So it doesn't have to be happy music to be inspiring.
american-musician
They think the banjo can only be happy, but that's not true.
giving hard letting prepared sort worked
There really had to be some letting go and just sort of giving yourself up to the gods. I worked so hard to be prepared, but I had to be prepared to play things I was NOT prepared for.