Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto & Music for Trio | Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, ...

Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto & Music for Trio | Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, ... | Delightful Disc

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	Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto & Music for Trio Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, ... Koch Records, 2009 average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

In this era of cookie-cutter, synthetic sounds that can be generated by virtually anyone and everyone, it's almost impossible to make music that can be instantly recognized as unique and incomparable. To have that music revealed as both groundbreaking and accessible to all is an even rarer occurrence. Banjo legend Bela Fleck, tabla genius Zakir Hussain and double-bass master Edgar Meyer, internationally-renowned virtuosi and composers, have achieved that pinnacle with this release. The centerpiece and catalyst for this album is "The Melody of Rhythm: Concerto", a gorgeously haunting, dynamic three-movement composition for banjo, double bass and tabla. Recorded live with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Leonard Slatkin, the highly rhythmic work soars, melding Indian classical rhythms with American roots-derived melodies and big-sky orchestral horizons. The remaining trio pieces further explore a group dynamic that promises to gain in richness and nuance as they continue their travels throughout the world. Fleck and Meyer have been collaborating for over 25 years, inclduing the Grammy-winning "Perpetual Motion" and the classic "Appalachian Journey" with Yo Yo Ma. Fellow Grammy winner Zakir Hussain is generally acknowledged to be the world's greatest virtuoso of the tabla drums, renowned for his cross-genre work with the likes of John McLaughlin's Shakti, Mickey Hart's Planet Drum, and Yo To Ma's Silk Road Project. For all three of these explorers, an understanding of musical tradition and improvisation has led them to this common crossroads, or as Bela Fleck described it in a recent Downbeat cover story, "getting together with some brothers he hadn't seen in some time".

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Another great collaboration involving Edgar Meyer

Just like Meyer's work in "Appalachia Waltz" and "Appalachian Journey" with Yo Yo Ma and Mark O'Connor, this album is simply amazing. It is much faster than they "Appalachia" albums. Fleck and Hussain have a fast pace. Meyer's bass holds the music together. Put this music on a good stereo and enjoy something refreshingly new.

This is a very difficult album to classify. It is a mix of jazz, classical and bluegrass with influences from India music. I call it World music in my playlist.

Delightful Disc

"Melody of Rhythm" is a delightful CD from Bela Fleck. It not only features his signature banjo style, but the wonderful bass notes of Edgar Meyer and the unusual beat of the tabla (a drum from India that I was most familiar with on Ravi Shankar albums). This disc is enjoyable both as music to "listen to" to catch the unusual nuances and as background music for meals or conversation. I would highly recommend it for fans of either Bela Fleck or Edgar Meyer.

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Transcending genre

When listening to previous collaborations between Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, and whomever else they chose to include in their musical play, I have admired their facility for mixing genres in a tasteful and artful manner.

This time they have gone beyond genre. They don't just build on the foundations of existing traditions, they bust through them entirely to create something new and spectacularly beautiful.

The inclusion of Zakir Hussein is just one of many strokes of genius. His delicate, complex rhythms, as the title suggests, do form a melodic line, or rather, several polyphonic lines.

What they have done goes beyond my ability to describe. It must be heard.

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Glimmer: My 'Best Book' for 2009

Check out Glimmer by Warren Berger. I've been looking for a guide to the world of design, and Glimmer, with a wonderful website, is a whole sack of Sacagaweas. I'm not to the bottom of it yet. The website, [...], has a hyperlinked list of the people Berger calls the "Glimmerati." What else do you need, except "world enough and time?" I blog about the design of government at [...], and my full review is there. The world of design has moved 'way beyond fashion and architecture, and is looking to change the world all around us. From what I've read, including Glimmer, I'd like to encourage them!

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The Melody of Rhythm