Béla Fleck at a May rehearsal. Fleck is touring behind a double album that explores his bluegrass roots while pointing toward new musical directions.
Béla Fleck has been an ambassador of the banjo for four decades, fusing bluegrass with other styles of music. His diverse musical tastes are reflected in the range of Grammy Awards he’s won, including best contemporary jazz album, folk album, pop instrumental album, classical crossover album and two for best contemporary world music album.
His newest album is a return to his bluegrass roots. “My Bluegrass Heart” features 20 guest musicians, all stars of the acoustic music world. It’s his third album in a bluegrass trilogy that also includes 1988’s “Drive” and “The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 2,” released in 1999.
Fleck plays the Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries on Wednesday with a band of musicians who are headliners in their own right: mandolinist Sam Bush, dobro master Jerry Douglas, bassist Edgar Meyer, fiddler Stuart Duncan and guitarist Bryan Sutton.
True to form, Fleck’s latest album is rooted in bluegrass but still reflects his compositional ambition and his taste for disregarding the boundaries of tradition.
“My bluegrass album is definitely attempting to not be limited. So you’re going to have some stuff that scratches that old-time funky itch, but you’re also going to have some stuff that goes out to the moon. And I’m glad I got all of that,” Fleck said.
St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy D. Goodwin spoke with Fleck about his musical adventures melding genres and the impetus for his latest project.
Jeremy D. Goodwin: People know you as someone who has brought the banjo into other musical contexts. At this point in your career, how does bluegrass fit into your musical identity?
Béla Fleck: I think that you take certain things for granted when they’ve been in your life the whole time. For me, occasionally I rediscover bluegrass, and I realize it’s one of the coolest artforms that’s ever occurred among human beings, and I’m super proud to be part of it.
Growing up in New York City and getting into it, a lot of people laughed at me because I liked bluegrass and they thought it was stupid and hillbilly and all this stuff. And I loved it anyway. And I couldn’t explain it. But I also was very intrigued by all kinds of music, and I found myself maybe downplaying bluegrass in a way at certain points in my career — going: ‘I don’t want to just be bluegrass. I want to play all kinds of music. I want to play classical music. I want to play jazz. I want to play rock. I want to be involved with all kinds of musical conversations.’
And so I would downplay the bluegrass part of myself. But every once in a while I would come back to it and realize it was maybe the hippest thing I’ve ever been a part of. And then everything I’ve done outside of it meant that I could bring some different ideas to it.