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Steve Martin received an award at the music industry’s most prestigeous event, the Grammy Awards. Steve Martin’s  The Crow: News Songs For the Five-String Banjo was named Best Bluegrass Album. Other nominees in this category were  Bryan Sutton and friends’ Almost Live, Rhonda Vincent’s Destination Life, Jim Lauderdale’s Could We Get Any Closer and Michael Martin Murphey’s Buckaroo Blue Grass.

Béla Fleck received two awards, Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Contemporary World Music Album for his album Throw Down Your Heart.

Bèla Fleck’s Africa Project – The Arts Centre, Melbourne

The wonderful Bèla Fleck’s African Project featuring Oumou Sangarè, in the country for Bluesfest over Easter 2010, will play a theatre sideshow at Hamer Hall on Thursday 8th April.

New York City native Béla Fleck is regularly considered the premier banjo player in the world. He made a name for himself on countless solo and ensemble projects as a virtuoso instrumentalist unbounded by genre. The man has won eleven Grammy awards and has received 25 nominations in more diverse categories than any other musician in history. His latest album, Throw Down Your Heart is a companion to the award-winning documentary of the same name, which premiered in 2009. Motivated by a deep love of African music, the film follows Béla on a boundary-breaking musical adventure to explore the little-known African roots of the banjo and record an album.

Bèla Fleck plays:

• the Arts Centre, Melbourne on 8th April 2010
• the Sydney Opera House on 6th April 2010

At this year’s Redland’s Bluegrass Festival, I got to spend some time with Bellbird Banjo’s founder Peter Nahyusen. I got to hear first hand of his big news that Bela Fleck had recently purchased one of his Bellbird banjos. Not only had Bela had bought one, but that he was using it in many of his concerts. Indeed, many video clips were bobbing up on Youtube of him playing it.

Given that this would not be classed as an insignificant event in a banjo builder’s career, I decided to pursue the matter:-

Ed: Firstly congratulations on the sale to Bela Fleck. You must be absolutely thrilled that one of the banjo fraternity’s greatest ambassadors has selected the Bellbird brand?

Peter: Thanks, yes it was a great thrill and an incredible privilege to make Bela this banjo.

Ed: What model did he get? I understand it was an electric banjo?

Peter: Yes that’s right. It’s a new model called The Ulysses and it is an electric banjo. I made one for Aussie banjo player Gary Vann a couple of years ago, and set out to make an electric that was a solid body, but still had the potential to sound exactly like an acoustic banjo when plugged in, but without any of the amplification and feedback problems associated with miking up an acoustic banjo.

Ed: Interesting, so how did Bela Fleck get to hear about a banjo from Australia?

Peter: Around 3 years ago I emailed Bela and told him about the Bellbird Banjo Company, and we traded a few emails and discussed the thought of when he was in Australia next catching up and checking out my banjos. In mid 2007 he came out with the Flecktones and so we caught up in Sydney for a couple of hours. I had 4 or 5 banjos with me, including Gary’s electric.

Ed: What was it like meeting Bela Fleck?

Peter: It was incredible. I took my good friend and (Sydney-based) banjo player Bruce Fumini with me for moral support. Bela was so friendly and helpful and is a genuinely nice guy. We talked a lot about banjos and banjo set up and the sound that he was after. It was all very relaxed.

Ed: Did you get to pick with him?

Peter: Indeed I did. Although Bruce broke the ice. He was showing Bela his own Bellbird banjo and Bela asked him play him something. Well what do you play for Bela Fleck? Bruce was nervous as heck, and you know how hard it is to pick a banjo when you are really nervous. So Bela is sitting about 3 feet away watching Bruce’s every move and listening really intently, and Bruce is fumbling around putting his picks on and sweating and trying to get comfortable and all I’m thinking is ‘I’m glad it’s him!’

Ed: So how did Bruce play?

Peter: He did really well. You couldn’t wipe the smile of Bruce’s face for around 3 weeks! Then he asked me to play some things for him out of my Celtic banjo book that I had with me and he picked up one of my banjos and joined me on playing a bunch of tunes. I couldn’t believe I was actually jamming with Bela Fleck! We talked about how we approached arranging Celtic songs, and it was interesting just how different we both did it. He was such a down to earth person, and very gracious and interested in what we were doing.

Ed: So at some point you must have discussed buying a banjo?

Peter: He liked the sound and feel of my acoustics, but he was really taken with Gary’s electric. My electric model has a little tone ring in it and it sounds very much like a banjo and it amps up really well. We didn’t have an amp there to try out, so when he went back to the USA he had me send over some sound samples of Gary’s banjo recorded. After he heard them he said he would like to buy one and placed an order.

Ed: So he has got it now, what has been his feedback?

Peter: Yes, he received it in early June and he toured with it for a month with African Singer Oumou Sangare and her band. I received a number of emails from him and all were extremely positive, in fact he said it was the best electric he had ever played. I am very proud of that, and very humbled as well. Bela also gave me a wonderful testimonial for my new website.

Ed: You also have American player and teacher Ross Nickerson releasing his own line of Bellbird Signature Series banjos and now Bela Fleck. What does this mean for the Bellbird Banjo Company?

Peter: Sales I hope. This industry is all about recognition and establishing a market presence that you can then grow. I need to get instruments out there, and be selling in the US which is the bluegrass heartland. But there are other markets too. Ross and of course Bela carry a lot of weight in the eyes of players. I have to build on that and turn my labour of love into a profitable business. That’s the plan anyway.

Ed: So you have a new website about to go live, (www.bellbirdbanjos.com) and of course a successful banjo conference now in its second year. The future looks very positive for Bellbird banjos?

Peter: Thanks Greg. Yes it’s been a great year, and I am enjoying every banjo pickin’ minute of it! I can’t wait for Harrietville and then the Banjo Conference in Maleny with Ross, and of course his band Hungry Hill.

Bela Fleck And The Flecktones perform at The Basement.

Mike Hall  in Victoria has alerted us to a repeat broadcast this week on ABC Television’s Live At The Basement. This week’s program will feature Bela Fleck and The Flecktones on ABC1 at 11:25pm this Thu., 06 Aug 2009.

Also showing on ABC1 at 11:30pm on Thu., 13th August is renowned country guitarist Albert Lee.

Rounder Records recently released Bela Fleck’s Tales From the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 – Africa Sessions. They have now released an interview with Bela discussing the project with Rounder Producer and VP of A&R, Scott Billington,: -

Scott Billington: This is such an ambitious project – collaborations with musicians from Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Mali, and Madagascar. Clearly, the trip required a great deal of planning, but can you describe some of the unexpected music you encountered?

Béla Fleck: I was already excited about Oumou Sangare and all of the very well recorded Malian musicians. But I was not sure what we’d encounter in The Gambia, Uganda or Tanzania. We found amazing music everywhere we went. From the giant marimba, to lutes and thumb pianos, African banjos and koras; great music was in abundance. Read more…

Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart

Rounder Records has announced the release of Bela Fleck’s Tales From the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 – Africa Sessions to be released on 3rd March 09.

Throw Down Your Heart chronicles banjo virtuoso and 9 time Grammy award winner Bela Fleck’s musical journey to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo. Bela’s boundary-breaking musical adventure takes him to Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali, and provides a glimpse of the beauty and complexity of African music. Using his banjo, Bela transcends barriers of language and culture, finding common ground and forging connections with musicians from very different backgrounds.

Béla Fleck, often considered the premiere banjo player in the world, has made a name for himself as a virtuoso instrumentalist unbounded by genre. His band The Flecktones – Victor Wooten on electric bass, Jeff Coffin on sax and flute, and Future Man on percussion – are equally talented and adventurous as Fleck himself, and together they have made a string of critically acclaimed albums that combine bluegrass, jazz, funk and world music with technical prowess, unlimited imagination and occasional zaniness.

Their new holiday CD Jingle All the Way is all of that, with bells on – Christmas music as it’s never been heard it before, with unique tonal textures (banjo, Tuvan throat singing, klezmer mandolin), hot solos and tight ensemble arrangements that make every measure new. Jingle All the Way is the perfect stocking stuffer for those who like their Christmas music fun and challenging at the same time

Track Listing:
1 – Jingle Bells
2 – Silent Night
3 – Sleigh Ride
4 – The Christmas Song
5 – Twelve Days of Christmas
6 – J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio – BVW 248 # 41
7 – Christmas Time Is Here
8 – Linus and Lucy
9 – Jingle Bells (reprise)
10 – The Hanukkah Waltz
11 – Danse of the Sugar Plum Fairies
12 – What Child Is This/Dyngyldai
13 – O Come All Ye Faithful
14 – Medley
15 – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
16 – River
Submitted by Rounder Records