Publication Date: Friday, May 28, 2004
No boundaries
No boundaries
(May 28, 2004) Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer blaze new paths in music
by Cross Missakian
If you search for banjoist Bela Fleck's and double bassist Edgar Meyer's latest album on iTunes, the software characterizes the music as "unclassifiable."
"I wasn't aware of that, but I like it," said Fleck, considered the world's premier banjo player .
The absence of a genre label is appropriate. Both Fleck and Meyer won acclaim by breaking down musical barriers and blending styles, and have revised the history of their chosen instruments by refusing to accept traditional limitations.
Fleck and Meyer bring their "unclassifiable" music to Stanford's Memorial Auditorium Monday. The Memorial Day concert, presented by Stanford Lively Arts, will mix original compositions with classical arrangements from such composers as Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Paganini.
The two artists, who recently released "Music For Two" on Sony, plan to once again demonstrate the sounds of bluegrass, jazz, folk, and classical -- and whatever else the artists may be feeling that day -- can coexist on the same stage.
But as fans across the country have learned, genre-bending virtuosity is only part of this duo's act. They engage each other and their audience in a musical conversation that jumps from dramatic to whimsical, and sometimes pauses for comic relief that hints of a vaudeville routine. The rapport that fuels this developed over many years of friendship.
Fleck and Meyer met in 1982 at the Pitkin County Fiddling Contest in Aspen, Colo. Fleck was there with his bluegrass band New Grass Revival, but said Meyer was generating all the festival buzz. When Fleck came upon Meyer playing for tips on the sidewalk in front of a Haagen-Dazs, he seized the opportunity.
"I got out my banjo and we played together right there on the street," Fleck said. Later, the impromptu jam session moved into a house party, and by the time the night ended the seeds of a long and productive friendship had been sown.
Since that first meeting, Fleck, often called the premier banjo player in the world, has gained popularity and critical praise with his bluegrass/jazz band the Flecktones, released a series of groundbreaking solo albums and reinvented the sound and image of the banjo with his classical renditions.
Meyer has merely been called the most remarkable virtuoso in the history of his instrument; gained critical acclaim as a composer, played with some of the world's most renowned orchestras as well as popular musicians like Garth Brooks, Yo-Yo Ma, Hank Williams Jr. and Emmylou Harris; become the only bassist to receive the prestigious Amy Fisher Prize and the Avery Fisher Career Grant; and won a MacArthur Foundation "genius award."
Both men credit their friendship as a factor in this success.
"Bela and I have had a long relationship that involved talking about music," Meyer told the Aspen Daily News in a 2002 interview. "Our playing is an outgrowth of that dialogue. We were always interested in talking about music and finding out more about it and trying to improve what we do."
In 1997, Fleck played on Meyer's stylistic hybrid "Uncommon Ritual." In 2001, Meyer returned the favor, helping Fleck on his groundbreaking classical banjo CD "Perpetual Motion."
Touring in support of that effort took their musical connection to another level. Though the duo had been musically and personally connected for years, they had never before gone out on the road for any length of time. As they performed together consistently, the two realized they developed a distinct identity as a duo.
"'Music for Two' captures our getting to know each other much better musically and finding new ways to play together," Meyer said.
Like any friends, the two sometimes get on each others nerves. Fleck, however, said that's a positive result of their mutual honesty. "In the music business, you have to act real nice to everyone all the time. With Edgar, we don't have to hide anything. Not too many friends will tell you that you're sucking. Edgar will tell me when I'm sucking. We're always trying to improve and we feel like we improve more by having somebody say the truth."
Although the Memorial Day show takes place at a time when the nation is at war, don't expect any tributes or moments of silence. "We're very aware of what's going on in the world, but I would hope that the concert would be a time to forget that and get lost in the music," Fleck said.
Editorial Intern Cross Missakian can be e-mailed at cmissakian@paweekly.com
Who Bela Fleck, banjo, Edgar Meyer, bass
When Monday, May 31, 2:30 p.m.
Where Stanford University Memorial Auditorium
Cost Tickets are $48/$40/$30; half price tickets for youths under 16, student discounts available.
Information Call (650) 725-ARTS (2787) or go to http://livelyarts.stanford.edu
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