Bela fleck and abigail washburn followed different paths before they finally came together, establishing themselves as trailblazing artists in their own right long before their personal and musical union. Abby washburn with bela fleck and the sparrow quartet by the banjo project on vimeo. Joined by the remaining members of her accomplished sparrow quartet banjo virtuoso bela fleck, cellist ben sollee, and fiddle player casey driessen washburn served as a sort of artistic ambassador to the region, introducing tibetan audiences to american music while absorbing asian. On his current tour, which visits the jefferson theater on march 6, fleck will perform banjo duets with his wife abigail washburn, an accomplished songwriter and claw hammerstyle player. In contrast with the sparrow quartets 2008 release, which combined bluegrass music. Produced by bela fleck, the music was composed and arranged by the foursome. Its members include abigail washburn banjo and vocals, bela fleck banjo. Abigail washburn born november 10, 1977 is an american clawhammer banjo player and singer. Abigail washburn is a clawhammer banjo player and singer. Bela and abigail have said that they decided to record this album in a way with minimal instrumentation so that they can perform with just the two of them, and. The two met at a square dance, began collaborating musically and eventually fell in love. Echo in the valley is the followup to acclaimed, selftitled debut that earned the duo a 2016 grammy for best folk album. Bela fleck and abigail washburn play bela bartok youtube.
Bela fleck and abigail washburn tickets, tour dates. Five years ago when she found herself on stage in a smokefilled beijing club playing her banjo and singing oldtime appalachian mountain music in chinese to a packed house, she was as surprised as anyone. The sparrow quartet ep, an album by abigail washburn on spotify. Thank you, bela fleck and abigail washburn, for the wonderful music. But its their expressive range in washburns nostalgia. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Now, after a decade of shared gigs and marriage, the two are one of the most soughtafter acts on. Abigail washburn and the sparrow quartet is washburns second album experimenting with the traditions and boundaries of american and chinese. She and her boys play complex and wellcomposed jazzgrass reminiscent of flecks acoustic albums no surprise there, and she also turns out some lovely ballads, mining alison krauss territory, but with less schlock. Ben sollee and casey driessen completed the group, and we did a lot of traveling together over the course of a year or so. Find bela fleck discography, albums and singles on allmusic.
It was her interest in chinese culture that helped inspire sparrow quartet, her side project with husband fleck, renowned violinist casey driessen and innovative cellist ben sollee. These musicians are extremely talented, in several genres of music, and the rapport between them is palpable. Abigail washburn and the sparrow quartet popmatters. Later that year, washburn formed a group to go on a minitour through china with her. Bela fleck and abigail washburn keep folk alive third. Abigail washburn and the sparrow quartet by abigail. Try disabling any ad blockers and refreshing this page. In 2004, abigail washburn became the first american musician to tour tibet on the u. Bela fleck and abigail washburn is a front porch banjo and vocal album of. The all star collaboration features banjo virtuoso bela fleck, acclaimed cellist ben sollee and grammy nominated fiddler casey driessen. Fleck and his wife abigail washburn took home the 2016 grammy for best folk album, and released the acclaimed follow up lp echo in the valley in 2017.
She performs and records as a soloist, as well as with the oldtime bands uncle earl and sparrow quartet, experimental group the wu force, and as a duo with her husband bela fleck. Declared a modern classic by the boston globe, abigail washburn is known for her work with the allfemale roots band uncle earl. Interestingly, they narrowed the parameters of their music. The sparrow quartet featuring bela fleck and abigail washburn 20070719 grey fox bluegrass festival. Discover more music, concerts, videos, and pictures with the largest catalogue online at. Playing in a duo allows banjo virtuoso couple abigail washburn and bela. Join songkick to track bela fleck and abigail washburn and get concert alerts when they play near you. The first episode aired march 20th with scheduled episodes to follow on 327, 43, and 410.
I have listened to bela fleck, with various other musicians and ensembles, for quite a few years, and this album is more frosting on the cake. Her albums include song of the traveling daughter, city of refuge, and the sparrow quartet ep. Until last fall, though, any performances they gave as a twopiece were decidedly informal, a pickin party here, a benefit show at washburns. Its also the latest project for banjo innovator bela fleck, and and the whole group. Fleck had long been interested in the banjo, but washburns path to a music career was more roundabout. Bela fleck and abigail washburn bring the family c. Stream adfree or purchase cds and mp3s now on amazon. The sparrow quartet is an american acoustic music group that formed in 2005.
The group is known for its mixture of oldtime music with chinese lyrics and melodies, owing to washburns longstanding interest in chinese culture. Some of the most interesting things in the world come together in strange and unique ways and show our. Fleck and washburn played two soldout shows at the old town school of folk music that evening, and as i settled in for the second show of the night, i was delighted by the sheepish grin on flecks face. It was produced by bela fleck and composed and arranged by. Bela fleck and jerry douglas 19980621 telluride, co sbd today. Abigail washburn has created a new sound that crosses global and cultural lines, personified in the raw, transcendental music of the sparrow quartet. Bela fleck and abigail washburn, the king and queen of the banjo paste magazine, have a musical partnership like no other. The sparrow quartet ep by abigail washburn on spotify. Bela fleck is a fifteentime grammy award winner who has taken the instrument across multiple genres, and abigail washburn a singersongwriter and clawhammer banjo player who reradicalized it by combining it with far east culture and sounds.
These days, fleck is keeping his musical interests close to home. We were fortunate to be one of the first american groups to perform in tibet, sponsored by the chinese and us governments in tandem. Abigail washburn never set out to be a songwriter or a recording artist. Recorded at the troy savings bank music hall, october, 2014 more folk. As he came onstage with his wife, singersongwriter abigail washburn, it was clear he was not going to be the one to do the talking. Abigail washburn, is also a renowned banjo player who has incorporated her international travels into her own compositions.
857 676 546 206 277 653 1215 1211 946 1107 48 1464 934 239 1125 877 600 1284 1526 379 869 846 600 489 31 534 251 689 833 1043 510 1273 1123 1266