The banjo always had the stereotype image of a farm boy gnawing straw, singing a tune with a Hillbilly accent. Even I am guilty of harboring that stereotype. I used to look at the banjo as a rustic instrument capable only of entertaining farm parties at countrysides in the Americas. But then, I discovered this excellent band whose frontman not only is an brilliant banjo player, but is an unusual composer as well.

I adore things done in the unusual way, and since I’m a professional musician and composer myself, unusual suits me. Here now is Bela Fleck and the Flecktones!

My perception of the banjo was totally overhauled as I watched a video of the Flecktones over Youtube. They are basically an instrumental band composed of highly seasoned musicians and they are currently touring as we speak. You can read more about them at their official website http://www.flecktones.com. The video above is Big Country, it’s the piece that attracted me to their music. Bela Fleck (banjo player and frontman) utilizes the banjo with a very dynamic style of harmonization reminiscent of a harp but with the twangs of country music. There’s also an interesting musical “duel” between bassist Victor Wooten and sax player Jeff Coffin in the song’s early part. I initially liked this song because it’s main melody is similar to a piece by Makiling (my band) called Pasimula.

Another favorite music of mine is Hoedown. It’s originally a classical ballet piece composed by Aaron Copland. This rendition of the Flecktones incorporates the tabla (Indian percussion) highlighted in some isolated parts. The chanted syllables at the intro of the song are actually the rhythms of the Indian tala cycle (google it) which is the main basis for playing Tabla and Indian music in general. You can’t hear the tabla when the whole band is playing because of its delicate sound. But Bela and the tabla player, Sandip Burman, does a breathtaking duo exhibition at the middle of the song. In this part Bela imitates the sound of the Indian sitar with his banjo.

Bela totally erases all banjo stereotypes with his rendition of Bach’s Partita in D originally written for violin. I thought he was joking in the video’s intro, but he was absolutely serious!

Bela playing Bach on banjo

I’m very happy that an unusual band such as the Flecktones is getting the proper recognition it deserves not only in the US but also worldwide, thanks to the internet. This opens the doors to countless other bands around the world who delves in music that we don’t associate with the mainstream. More power to the Flecktones!