Click button to listen to Banjo in Africa and rightclick to download. The renowned US musician Bela Fleck is widely regarded as one of the foremost players of the banjo , the top performer of his generation. He has done much to widen the repertoire of music played on the instrument by collaborating with Western classical musicians he even released an album of classical music played on the banjo, which is some achievement in its own right , European musicians and even African stars like Malian kora master Toumani Diabate.
He has also stated that his aim is not only to broaden the range of music available to banjo players but also to dispel the "Southern [US] stereotype " of the banjo being playing only for bluegrass , for which, in terms of popularity at least, it is best known.
I have written before about how musical instruments like the banjo originated in Africa. The banjo probably originated in Gambia, West Africa, and was taken by slaves to the Americas, where it was carried to places of work and played whenever time was available. Eventually it was to become key in the development of jazz the late Danny Barker of New Orleans is an excellent musician to listen to if you want to know the role of the banjo in jazz - you can see and listen to him on YouTube before being dropped in the s.
A little later it was seriously taken up by bluegrass and Appalachian musicians with the legendary Earl Scruggs acknowledged as the greatest player of all time, something Fleck agrees with. Despite being a professional banjo player since he was a teenager, Fleck only found out quite late about the instrument's historical roots in Africa.
So instead of continuing with his collaborations with musicians from the Americas and Europe - and with his band , The Flecktones, taking a year-long sabbatical - he decided in to go to Africa to find out more about the instrument and to play with Africans. The music was recorded in the field in Mali, Gambia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Cameroon and Senegal Parts of the album have a travelogue feel to them and some of the songs do go on for a long time, like an extended jam , but this is a minor quibble since the album is packed with surprises and some very good tracks.
Additionally, his fast-paced rolls replaced the original chording of clawhammer banjo, which largely helps to explain why Earl Scruggs is often classified as the father of bluegrass banjo. Watching Bela Fleck performing live on stage is still as surreal an experience as when the banjo maestro debuted his performance years ago. He has taken the instrument beyond the limits of bluegrass banjo and has managed to branch it out to other genres like traditional African music, pop, and fusion.
Aside from completely transforming how the instrument is seen today, Fleck has been nominated more times for the Grammy Award than any other artist in any category in history. Fleck has been nominated a total of 27 times and has won 11 times. Tony Trischka is one of the most recognizable names in the roots music scene. He is also one of the most influential banjo players of all time. Additionally, he has created instructional books, CDs, as well as the renowned Tony Trischka School of Banjo, which is an online school that teaches students from all over the world interested in learning the banjo.
Alison Brown is one of the most popular female banjo players of modern times. She is a Grammy award-winning artist that has received a wide array of distinguished achievement awards for her lifetime of banjo genius. She is credited with her lyrical approach to playing the five-string banjo and her innovative modern technique that has seen her music incorporated in various musical genres and films. Alongside her husband Gary West, she started Compass Records in , which has quickly emerged as the premier independent record label for an assortment of banjo music techniques including Celtic folk and bluegrass.
World class banjo player Alan Munde is one of the most revered banjo players of his generation. He had already created a name for himself by the mids as a force to reckon with in banjo music.
He has blazed a trail as a respected and innovative banjo player with a career that has spanned decades. His early original works with Sam Bush and his traditional bluegrass tunes with the Sunny Mountain Boys are still as popular with avid bluegrass fans today. He has recorded numerous works since and has taught music in noteworthy schools such as the South Plains College in Levelland Texas.
Abigail Washburn has become a household name in banjo music and is well known for her Chinese and Appalachian banjo influences in her recordings. Case in point, her first album Song of the Travelling Daughter was heavily inspired by Chinese culture.
She is also married to renowned banjo player Bela Fleck who performed alongside her in their famous band the Sparrow Quartet, which consisted of a chamber ensemble made up of 2 banjos, a violin, and the cello before it was disbanded so that the husband and wife team could explore solo careers.
The Bluegrass legend built a successful career at a time when modern bluegrass was still relatively new with audiences. Not only was he a well known and esteemed banjo player, he was also skilled at singing acapella and bluegrass thanks to his incredible tenor of voice that captivated thousands during his performances. Jens Kruger is one of the most accomplished five-string banjo players today.
He is best known for performing alongside his brother Uwe Kruger in their band the Kruger Brothers. His early musical career was inspired by Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs but it was only until Bill Monroe heard him play at one of his earlier performances in a music festival that his career in bluegrass started. His technique is heavily influenced by European classical music, as well as his classical interpretation of Appalachian folk music.
David Akeman commonly referred as a Stringbean was an American Banjo player and comedian. He was not only a well-known legend inducted at the Grand Ole Opry but he was also equally well known for his comedic role in Hee Haw, a TV show that aired in He is remembered for paving the way for other traditional banjo players in country music as he had already managed to achieve superstar status by the end of the 60s.
Sadly, Stringbean was shot and murdered alongside his wife on the night of November 10, , during a home invasion and robbery. Steve Martin is not only a popular pop culture icon, famous comedian, and Emmy award winner, but he is also a skilled banjo player that has won the coveted Grammy Award severally.
Although Steve Martin primarily used the banjo mainly as a comedic prop in the past, his playing has become more serious over the years. Ward was an important figure in the world of old-time music, and especially the banjo.
His contributions to the clawhammer style of playing the five-string banjo have helped shape the way many, if not all, old-time banjo players play today. Ward lived as a farmer in Independence Virginia his entire life and never became a professional musician, although he did perform and compete regularly at the world famous Galax Old Fiddlers Convention and travelled with various bands. Fleck is arguably one of the most accomplished musicians to have ever picked up the five-string banjo.
Fleck took the staple Scruggs, Reno and melodic styles, thoroughly mastered and developed them, apparently in about three weeks, and then set about assimilating stringed instrument techniques from just about every genre and instrument on the planet. It was with the Weavers that Seeger first achieved public acclaim but before that, during the build up to America entering WW2, he was also a member of the Young Communist League and the Almanac Singers, along with the great Woody Guthrie.
Chronologically and geographically, both Scruggs and Reno were contemporaries, probably influenced by similar music and musicians, and ultimately trying to achieve a similar goal, but the end results were actually quite different. The idea being that you use your thumb and index finger to play select passages and licks as if they were the down and up strokes of a plectrum. When the film Deliverance was released, the tune became the subject of a lengthy court battle.
At the beginning of the s, McKenna, along with his band The Dubliners, introduced the banjo to traditional Irish music. Apparently, given the choice McKenna would have, at least at first, much preferred to have played the mandolin.
The lack of a suitable instrument around the McKenna house and the timely presence of an unused banjo is reputed to be largely responsible for this famous pairing.
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