DOC NYC ’14: Bela Fleck How to Write a Banjo Concerto

Mozart wrote his first symphony at the precocious age of eight, but Béla Fleck would probably be most impressed by the fact he wrote it without the help of the Sibelius composition program. Of course, Mozart did not pen much for a banjo soloist, leaving the field open for Fleck. Fans will watch him wrestle long and hard with a high profile symphonic commission in Sascha Paladino & his banjo virtuoso brother’s Béla Fleck: How to Write a Banjo Concerto (trailer here), which screens during this year’s DOC NYC.

Fleck had previously co-written extended symphonic work with classical bassist Edgar Meyer and tabla player Zukir Hussain, but “The Impostor” would be his first solo composition. Basically, Fleck holes up during a few short sabbaticals, grinding it out with the help of Sibelius. For the most part, he tries to tune out the advice of Meyer, his classical “big brother” and his wife, clawhammer player Abigail Washburn. Frankly, the doc makes the composition part look easy. The hard part is going from Sibelius to a flesh and blood symphony orchestra.

It is interesting to watch Fleck tinker with the concerto based on feedback during rehearsals. We also see some of the informational interviews he conducted with the Nashville Symphony’s section principals. It seems like he was looking to incorporate the sort of things they like to play, which is probably a winning strategy to keep the orchestra on his side.

Yes, Fleck will feel the stress, with the premiere date fast approaching and the concerto not exactly set in stone. However, there are plenty of backstage documentaries that deliver far more emotional oomph (Every Little Step, for instance). Despite the presence of Fleck’s big name friends who periodically pop in to offer moral support, including Steve Martin, Marcus Roberts, the late Earl Scruggs (to whom the film is co-dedicated), and Chick Corea (who never once mentions Scientology), it is hard to see Concerto as a proper theatrical documentary. Rather, it has the vibe and heft of a free digital download bundled with his Deutsch Grammophon album.

If anyone in the film actually refers to the piece by its title, “The Impostor,” it sure is easy to miss. Regardless, Fleck & Paladino never sketch out the rudimentary narrative underpinning it. There just seems to be an assumption viewers are already fairly up to speed on major Fleck projects. Throughout Concerto, he seems likable and remarkably easy-going, all things considered, and only a fool would deny his dazzling technique. Nevertheless, the neurotic thoughts we see scribbled across the screen John Madden-style quickly become an annoying device.

As impressive as Fleck’s musical accomplishments are, Concerto is rather lightweight cinema. While nowhere near as hollow as Kevin Spacey’s recent vanity doc, it is still not as musically satisfying as Fleck and Paladino’s previous feature documentary, Throw Down Your Heart (after all, we hear more of “The Impostor” as played by Sibelius than the Nashville Symphony). Only recommended for die-hard Fleck fans, Béla Fleck: How to Write a Banjo Concerto screens this Thursday (11/20), as part of DOC NYC 2014, with the composer himself scheduled to attend.

Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart

It’s been a while since the banjo got some movie love, perhaps going back to Deliverance, which was probably a mixed blessing for the instrument’s image. Countering the banjo’s poor white Southern stereotype was one of the prime motivations of Béla Fleck’s musical expedition to Africa, that Sascha Paladino documents in Throw Down Your Heart (clip here), which opens today in New York.

Fleck, a fixture of No Depression magazine, is unquestionably the most important banjo artist on the scene today. The innovative bluegrass and sometime jazz musician has also inspired scores of innovative string bands through his example. So he has great credibility explaining the African roots of his instrument of choice and his mission to “bring the banjo back to Africa.” Actually, the instrument’s African origins may not be universally accepted, but why let a few stickler ethnomusicologists stand in the way of a good concept for a documentary?

The most important element of Throw is the music of course, and happily, it is often quite remarkable. In fact, it is downright shocking how good the sounds of the banjo and mbira blend together. Fleck also has some stirring collaborations with vocalists and we even hear him play an enormous marimba-like instrument.

In addition to being a very talented musician, Fleck seems like a reasonably nice guy in Throw. However, maybe he is the victim of editing, but his emotional responses sometimes seem out of proportion to his given situations, as when he is moved to tears when leaving on the second leg of his journey.

The music of Throw is indeed very cool, and it should introduce some amazing African musicians to American audiences, which is definitely a good thing. It will be a great DVD release, perfect for the Starbuck’s crowd. However, some audiences might find it insufficiently cinematic on the big screen. It opens today in New York at the IFC Film Center.

Bookazine (Whatever That Is): No Depression

No Depression No. 76: The Next Generation
Grant Alden & Peter Blackstock ed.
University of Texas Bookazine (Whatever that is)

Print is dead, or at least so I’ve been told repeatedly as a publishing semi-professional. The magazine business has been particularly brutal over the last ten years or so. Some have tried to maintain a digital life after ceasing hardcopy publication, but it has usually just prolonged the death rattle (case in point: Omni magazine). While No Depression has pursued a similar internet strategy after shipping their final issue this summer, they have also recommitted to ink-on-paper, forming an alliance with the University Press of Texas to publish a twice yearly tradepaperback “bookazine (whatever that is).” With the first bookazine, No. 76: the Next Generation, now out, ND chose a theme of rejuvenation, focusing on youthful string bands currently reshaping the bluegrass scene.

Taking its name from an Uncle Tupelo album and the Carter Family song “No Depression in Heaven,” ND has covered all forms of music which fit under the umbrella of Americana, including: bluegrass, blues, ambitious country music, roots rock, and a smidgen of jazz. For the new incarnation, they made the editorial decision to relegate all live performance reviews to the website, but retained some CD reviews to preserve some of the feel of the original magazine. Indeed, most of No. 76 profiles the youthful string bands, which I am happy to note in a few cases includes artists well into their thirties.

It is cool to see ND find new life in as a bookazine, but as they grow accustomed to the new format, editorial adjustments will need to be made. Unlike the magazine form, the bookish trappings will encourage some readers to start at page one and proceed sequentially to page 144 (like your faithful reviewer). Unfortunately, many of the string band profiles follow the same template, explaining how each group is mindful of tradition, but incorporate a host of outside influences to synthesize their own unique sound, which is exemplified in their latest CD. To be fair, developing fresh hooks to discuss musicians is devilishly difficult (believe me, I empathize completely), but differentiating articles will be a greater concern now than in a proper magazine, which readers typically dip into sporadically.

That said, No. 76 is a thorough primer on the fresh faces on the string band scene. One name that recurs frequently though is no new-comer. As a member of Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet, Béla Fleck is described as: “regularly rated by many to be the most innovative living master banjoist who’s not Earl Scruggs.” (p. 80) His name reappears as an influence and producer for other artists, as well as art director for No. 76, having stage managed the eccentric photo shoot of Washburn and the Sparrow quartet, which graces the cover.

If bluegrass, no matter how reinvented, is not your thing, there is some welcome blues coverage in No. 76 as well. There are profiles of the truly youthful Homemade Jamz Blues Band and Gary Clark, Jr., the breakout star of John Sayles’s The Honeydripper. There is also a fairly lukewarm review of Two Men with the Blues, the collaboration between Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis. While praising some tunes, Rich Kienzle sums up the release writing: “it brings forth nothing new or revolutionary, nor was it meant to.” (p. 142)

It is great to see ND continue covering artists that magazines like Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone will not bother with, in any format. It also represents a potentially interesting publishing development, blurring formats as its artists blur genres. It should be interesting to follow as they calibrate their future contributions to fit the new format.