Béla Fleck - My Bluegrass Heart
Those who remember Béla Fleck's previous concert eight years ago probably know how the American-born banjo player got to be named Béla. It's not because of any Hungarian family roots: his father, a musician of Slovak ancestry, named him after Bartók, an act that set Fleck's life on its path. However, he would then proceed to become more than just an average musician, but rather the genius of the banjo who has been nominated for Grammy awards in more categories than anyone else in the world. This time around, he returns to Budapest at the head of a genuine all-star bluegrass ensemble.
Schedule
Born in 1958, Fleck is a true virtuoso of his instrument, one who is always looking for new and even newer innovative and technically flawless ways to play the banjo, including in its marriage with other genres. His partner in the latter regard is his own wife, Abigail Washburn, whom we last got to see and hear with him at Müpa Budapest in 2015. Previously, however, he visited together with his group Béla Fleck And The Flecktones, whose sound takes progressive bluegrass in the direction of jazz fusion and jam music. Prior to founding his most famous line-up in 1988, he played for many years with one of the core bands of prog bluegrass, New Grass Revival. Over time, though, he grew capable of really anything. His impressive haul of 38 Grammy nominations (15 of which resulted in winning the award) have come in many different categories: country, pop, jazz, bluegrass, classical, folk, spoken word, world music, American roots, and others. At his current concert, he will present his Grammy-winning album My Bluegrass Heart, released in 2021, with fellow bluegrass musicians who have most likely never been to Hungary.
Müpa Budapest
Müpa Budapest is one of Hungary's best-known cultural brands and one of the most modern cultural institutions, bringing together different artistic disciplines in a unique way: it hosts classical, contemporary, light, jazz and world music, opera, new circus, dance, literature and film.
