Bela Fleck Natural Bridge CD

Personnel: Bela Fleck (banjo); Mark O'Connor (guitar, 12-string guitar, fiddle, viola); David Parmley (guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Jimmy Gaudreau, David Grisman, Mike Marshall, Buck White (mandolin); Darol Anger (fiddle, violectra); Ricky Skaggs (5-string fiddle, harmony fiddle); Mark Schatz (bass).
Includes liner notes by David Grisman.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Personnel: Béla Fleck (banjo); Mark O'Connor (guitar, 12-string guitar, fiddle, viola); David Parmley (guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); David Grisman, Jimmy Gaudreau, Mike Marshall , Buck White (mandolin); Darol Anger, Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush (fiddle).
Audio Mixer: Richard Adler .
Liner Note Author: David Grisman.
Recording information: 1750 Arch Studios, Berkeley, CA.
Photographer: David Gahr.
Unknown Contributor Role: Béla Fleck.
Arranger: Béla Fleck.
Before he single-handedly invented jazz-fusion five-string banjo, Bela Fleck was a young bluegrass player whose work with such bands as Spectrum and the New Grass Revival pushed the envelope of bluegrass tradition and contributed to the development of the New Acoustic movement spearheaded by mandolinist David Grisman, guitarist Tony Rice, and others. Fleck's playing was based on the melodic Keith/Trischka style along with the single-string technique of Don Reno, but his sound was all his own and as time went on his ideas became increasingly jazz-based. His second album finds him straddling the fence between bluegrass and jazz: "Punchdrunk" is a quirky romp built on an explicitly bluegrassy foundation, while "Flexibility" almost sounds like 1940s bebop. Other compositions fall somewhere in between, such as the beautiful and gentle duet between banjo and dobro, "Daybreak" and the highly chromatic but traditionally textured "Applebutter." Guests include all the usual suspects: Grisman, guitarist/fiddler Mark O'Connor, fiddlers Darol Anger and Sam Bush, bassist Mark Schatz, and dobro fiend Jerry Douglas, among others. Great stuff. ~ Rick Anderson
Prior to dazzling the jazz-fusion scene with his electrified Flecktones, Bela Fleck was one of the late 70s/early 80s pioneers of an acoustic fusion of bluegrass, folk, and swinging jazz. Truly a wonderful and daring musician, Fleck first set the bluegrass world on its collective ear with his superb banjo playing, which was as influenced by Charlie Parker as it was by Earl Scruggs.
Originally released in 1982, NATURAL BRIDGE lives up to its title--it bridges the worlds between bluegrass, in "Bitter Gap," and Django Reinhardt's bop-charged swing, in "Flexibility" and "October Winds." Often there are exchanges between both styles to the point where it's hard to hear where one starts and the other ends, as with "Crossfire." All the fine players featured here demonstrate amazing technique, warmth and versatility.No Depression (5-6/00, p.103) - "...A sampler of sorts; all the tunes are originals, but they span a range of styles....pushing complex melodic figures and accents against the timing of the rhythm section. It's a pleasing mixture..."