Just in case you aren't familiar with Grammy Award winner Béla Fleck, there are some who say he's the premiere banjo player in the world. Others claim that Béla has virtually reinvented the image and the sound of the banjo through a remarkable performing and recording career that has taken him all over the musical map and on a range of solo projects and collaborations. If you are familiar with Béla, you know that he just loves to play the banjo, and put it into unique settings.

In his most ambitious project to date, renowned musician Béla Fleck explores the origins of the banjo. Fleck discovered in his travels in Africa that, while the banjo is traditionally considered an American instrument, its origins lie far from her shores. Throw Down Your Heart, the award-winning film, documented Fleck’s travels and explorations of music. Now, in The Africa Project, Fleck brings to the stage his collaborations with some of the Africa’s most talented musicians.

“[Fleck's] reverence for his fellow players allows for the honey of the African sounds to seem that much sweeter.”
- popmatters.com

“The banjo sheds its image as the quintessential American instrument to reveal a symbol of deep African heritage and the collective wail of the European slave trade.”
- Austin American Statesman

Thursday, February 18, 2010, 7:30 PM
Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium