Photo: Tom Martorelli from United States · CC BY 2.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Béla Fleck
Person · male · United States · New York City · born 1958 · recording since 1979
American banjo player
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Also known as Bela Fleck · Béla Anton Leoš Fleck · 貝拉·佛萊克
Timeline
34 events▣ Album 32◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1950s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Crossing the Tracks
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1980s
1990s
· Album
Album: The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Volume 2
Album
source: musicbrainz
2000s
· Album
Album: Throw Down Your Heart, Tales From the Acoustic Planet, Volume 3: Africa Sessions
Album
source: musicbrainz
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography1,245 words · 7 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1371216917
Biography
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck ( BAY-lə; born July 10, 1958) is an American virtuoso banjo player whose work blends bluegrass with other genres, including jazz, and who is known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Fleck has won 18 Grammy Awards and been nominated 41 times.
In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival.
Early life, family and education
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck was born into a Jewish family in New York City. He was named after three classical composers his father admired: the Hungarian Béla Bartók, the Austrian Anton Webern, and the Czech Leoš Janáček. The father left the family when Béla was a year old. They did not meet again until Béla was in his 40s. Bela's mother remarried; her new husband played cello.
Fleck was drawn to the banjo at a young age when he heard Earl Scruggs play the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies television show, and when he heard "Dueling Banjos" by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell on the radio. At the age of 15, while visiting his grandparents in New Jersey, he received his first banjo, which his grandfather had found at a garage sale. During the train ride home, a man who was waiting for the train tuned the banjo for him, and suggested he learn to play from the book How to Play the Five String Banjo by Pete Seeger. Fleck attended the High School of Music & Art in New York City, where he played French horn until he flunked and was transferred to the choir. He spent most of his time on the banjo; he studied the book Bluegrass Banjo by Pete Wernick, and took lessons from Erik Darling, Marc Horowitz, and Tony Trischka.
Early career
After graduating from high school, he moved to New York City and became a member of the bluegrass group Tasty Licks, with whom he recorded two albums. He released his debut solo album, Crossing the Tracks
Crossing the TracksSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Dear Old Dixie2:392Inman Square4:003Texas Barbeque3:594Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman1:425Spain7:126Crossing the Tracks3:387Spring Thaw2:278How Can You Face Me Now4:559Twilight2:0110Frosty Morning2:5911Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow2:26 (1979), and it was chosen Best Overall Album by the readers of Frets magazine.
Fleck played on the streets of New York City with bassist Mark Schatz. Along with guitarist Glen Lawson and mandolinist Jimmy Gaudreau, they formed Spectrum in 1981. That same year, Béla Fleck, accompanied by the other musicians from Spectrum, participated in the album “Fiddle Tunes for Banjo
Fiddle Tunes for BanjoSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracksA1Bill Cheatham3:12A2Dust on the Needle / Paddy Kelly’s Jig4:02A3Fiddler’s Dream2:45A4Barbara’s Waltz2:55A5Salty3:08A6Clinging Vine3:04A7Black Mountain Rag2:52B1Mead Mountain Blues3:13B2Vanished3:00B3Silverbell2:54B4Christina’s Jig / Plain Brown Jig3:48B5Jolly Waffle Man3:23B6Old Sandy River Belle2:37B7Panhandle Country1:52” with Tony Trischka and Bill Keith, for Rounder). Later, Sam Bush asked Fleck to join New Grass Revival, with whom Fleck would perform for nine years. In 1984, he played on the album Snakes Alive!, by the Dreadful Snakes (Rounder 0177), along with Jerry Douglas, Roland White and Blaine Sprouse. During this time, in 1987 Fleck recorded another solo album, Drive
DriveSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Whitewater3:092Slipstream5:083Up and Around the Bend3:354Natchez Trace4:575See Rock City4:046The Legend4:197The Lights of Home5:078Down in the Swamp3:369Sanctuary7:2510The Open Road3:3711Crucial County Breakdown2:58, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1988 for Best Bluegrass Album. During the 1980s Fleck and Bush also performed live with Doc and Merle Watson in bluegrass festivals, most notably the annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Bela also played with Jerry Garcia at the Hearst Greek Theatre, on August 5, 1990.
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
In 1988, Fleck and Victor Wooten formed Béla Fleck and the Flecktones with keyboardist and harmonica player Howard Levy and Wooten's brother, Roy "Future Man" Wooten, who played synthesizer-based percussion. They recorded numerous albums, most notably Flight of the Cosmic Hippo, their second album, which reached number one on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and found increased popularity among fans of jazz fusion.
Levy left the group in 1992, making the band a trio until saxophonist Jeff Coffin joined the group onstage in 1997. His first studio recording with the band was their 1998 album, Left of Cool. Coffin left the group in 2008 to replace the Dave Matthews Band's saxophonist, the late LeRoi Moore. Levy returned to the Flecktones in 2009. Béla Fleck and the original Flecktones recorded Rocket Science and toured in 2011.
Other music and recordings
Fleck played banjo on Before These Crowded Streets by the Dave Matthews Band, including the album's debut single "Don't Drink the Water".
In 1989 Fleck was invited to join the supergroup Strength in Numbers, headed by Sam Bush on mandolin, with Jerry Douglas on resonator guitar (dobro), Edgar Meyer on bass, and Mark O'Connor on violin. The group recorded just one album, The Telluride Sessions, before Bush disbanded the group.
In 2001, he collaborated with Edgar Meyer on Perpetual Motion, an album of classical music played on the banjo. They were accompanied by John Williams, Evelyn Glennie, Joshua Bell, and Gary Hoffman. Perpetual Motion won Grammy Awards for Best Arrangement and Best Classical Crossover Album.
Fleck and Meyer composed a double concerto for banjo and bass and performed its debut with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. They were commissioned by the Orchestra to compose a trio concerto, for which they invited Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain. The concerto debuted in Nashville in 2006 when it was recorded for the album The Melody of Rhythm. Fleck premiered the Concerto for Banjo in Nashville, Tennessee on September 22, 2011, performing it with the full Nashville Symphony Orchestra.
In 2005, while the Flecktones were on hiatus, Fleck undertook several new projects: recording with traditional African musicians; co-writing the documentary Bring it Home about the Flecktones; co-producing Song of the Traveling Daughter, the debut album by his wife, Abigail Washburn; forming the acoustic fusion supergroup Trio! with Jean-Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke; and recording an album as a member of the Sparrow Quartet with Washburn, Ben Sollee, and Casey Driessen.
He appeared on the cover of the July/August 2013 issue of Making Music magazine.
Alone and with the Flecktones, Fleck has appeared at the High Sierra Music Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Merlefest, Montreal International Jazz Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, Newport Folk Festival, Delfest, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Shakori Hills, Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Strawberry Music Festival, and Rochester International Jazz Festival.
Fleck is the subject of a documentary film. In Throw Down Your Heart (2008), a film crew follows him on his travels in Africa where he collaborates with some of the best musicians and researches the African origins of the banjo. In a New York Times article about the film, Stephen Holden writes: "At every stop on a journey that takes him from Uganda to Tanzania to Gambia and finally to Mali, Mr. Fleck plays and records with gifted local musicians. Early in the film, a Ugandan villager insists that the common perception of Africa as a continent ravaged by war and disease is 'just a very small bit of what Africa is,' and Throw Down Your Heart sets out to prove him right."
Personal life
Fleck is married to banjo player Abigail Washburn. Washburn first met Fleck in Nashville at a square dance at which she was dancing and he was playing. Fleck produced Washburn's first solo album. Fleck brought Washburn to the wedding of his half-brother, award-winning children's television writer Sascha Paladino, in August 2007, and they played in a scratch band composed of wedding party members. In May 2009, the Bluegrass Intelligencer website satirized the upcoming "strategic marriage" of Washburn and Fleck, joking that the couple promised a "male heir" who will be the "Holy Banjo Emperor."
Fleck and Washburn have two sons, born 2013 and 2018.
Grammy Awards and nominations
Fleck has shared Grammy Awards with Asleep at the Wheel, Alison Brown, and Edgar Meyer. He has been nominated in more categories than any other musician, namely country, pop, jazz, bluegrass, classical, folk, spoken word, composition, and arranging.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 20 | 81.1th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 54 | 94.8th |
| Studio albums | 32 | 98.4th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 34 | 97.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 47 | 88th |
| Genres | 8 | 94.5th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (54 release groups · 32 studio albums)
Albums · 32
1979 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 37:58
1Dear Old Dixie2:392Inman Square4:003Texas Barbeque3:594Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman1:425Spain7:126Crossing the Tracks3:387Spring Thaw2:278How Can You Face Me Now4:559Twilight2:0110Frosty Morning2:5911Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow2:261981 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 42:45
A1Bill Cheatham3:12A2Dust on the Needle / Paddy Kelly’s Jig4:02A3Fiddler’s Dream2:45A4Barbara’s Waltz2:55A5Salty3:08A6Clinging Vine3:04A7Black Mountain Rag2:52B1Mead Mountain Blues3:13B2Vanished3:00B3Silverbell2:54B4Christina’s Jig / Plain Brown Jig3:48B5Jolly Waffle Man3:23B6Old Sandy River Belle2:37B7Panhandle Country1:521982 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 42:58
1Punchdrunk2:392Flexibility4:113Dawg's Due2:594Daybreak3:005Bitter Gap2:596October Winds5:497Crossfire3:268Applebutter2:429Old Hickory Waltz4:5310Rocky Road3:2511The Natural Bridge Suite6:551984 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 35:18
1Spunk2:142Black Forest2:443Double Play3:004Lowdown3:375The Bullfrog Shuffle1:376Another Morning3:357Light Speed2:348Sweet Rolls3:219Ladies and Gentleman2:2410Right as Rain2:3311Far Away2:2312Ready to Go1:5513The Fast Lane3:211984 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 35:41
A1Deviation4:26A2Reverie1:33A3Nuns for Nixon4:10A4Malone1:09A5Moontides5:37B1Ambrose6:30B2OMAC0:36B3Jalmon With Salmon2:24B4Mbanza1:21B5Places7:551986 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 38:01
1Toninio4:092Somerset3:103Cecata0:544Four Wheel Drive3:595Ireland6:586Perplexed6:217The Old Country2:598Hudson's Bay5:239Close to Home4:081988 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 47:55
1Whitewater3:092Slipstream5:083Up and Around the Bend3:354Natchez Trace4:575See Rock City4:046The Legend4:197The Lights of Home5:078Down in the Swamp3:369Sanctuary7:2510The Open Road3:3711Crucial County Breakdown2:581991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 37:29
1So Long Jake2:252Paradise Found3:403High Level Hornpipe2:584Minority3:515Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine3:196Spring In The Old Country3:397Bill Cheatham3:018Big Strong Waldo3:269Great Season Waltz3:5310Belame Fiddle2:1911Gypsyland3:0512Home Sweet Home1:531992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 24 tracks · 1:10:14
1Ruben's Wah Wah1:4522fourteen1:403Liberec2:424Free Improvisation #22:165Assunta3:166Old Joe Clark / June Apple1:477Max and Gus1:428Beaumont Rag2:049Kingfisher's Wing2:1310Earl Scruggs Medley2:2311Jeff Davis Medley3:4612Yaha Yaha0:5313Beatles Medley5:3914The Rings of Saturn0:3215Green Willis / Whiskey Before Breakfast / Killer Bees on Caffeine6:2216Oma and Opa4:5017Solaris3:2618Flapperette / Red Pepper-Spicy Rag3:2519Triplet Fever2:2320Bach Violin Partita in D Minor (BWV 1004)2:5921Did You Ever Meet Gary Owen, Uncle Joe?4:0622Middle Eastern Medley4:5323Twisted Teen2:0624Au Lait3:06Tales From the Acoustic Planet
1995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 59:18
1Up and Running4:262First Light2:413The Great Circle Route4:214Circus of Regrets4:145Three Bridges Home5:196The Landing3:577Arkansas Traveler3:068Backwoods Galaxy4:239In Your Eyes5:1010System Seven4:1711Cheeseballs in Cowtown4:5412Bicyclops4:2113Jayme Lynn5:3514For Sascha2:341996 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 54:00
1Cārukeśī6:432Emperor's Mare1:403Rādhā Krsna Līlā6:424John Hardy2:295Tabula Rasā3:076Geocentricity6:087The Way of Love4:168Earl in Shanghai5:009Water Gardens4:3610The Jade Princess2:5811The Dancing Girl10:211997 · studio album
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Tracklist · 17 tracks · 1:17:31
1Uncommon Ritual6:032Seesaw3:013Sliding Down4:414Chromium Picolinate3:335Contramonkey3:526Chance Meeting5:027Zigeunerweisen8:318Travis2:589Old Tyme3:2510Contrapunctus XIII from "The Art of the Fugue"7:0111Third Movement from "Amalgamations for Solo Bass"5:2412By the River3:2213Big Country4:0014Barnyard Disturbance3:4215In the Garden5:3116Child's Play3:0517The Big Cheese4:20The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Volume 2
1999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:15:48
1Blue Mountain Hop4:262Buffalo Nickel4:393When Joy Kills Sorrow5:104Spanish Point5:365Polka on the Banjo4:046Clarinet Polka1:347The Over Grown Waltz3:438Ode to Earl3:109Home Sweet Home2:2110Valley of the Rogue5:1311Plunky's Lament2:1712Maura on a Bicycle / Stout and Molasses / Way Back When9:4113Dark Circles5:1314Old Jellico / Puddle Jumper / Dead Man's Hill6:0915Katmandu4:2416Do You Have Room?1:1817Foggy Mountain Special2:1218Major Honker4:382001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 20 tracks · 57:41
1Keyboard Sonata in C major, K. 1592:162Two-Part Invention No. 131:353"Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum" from Children's Corner2:304Mazurka in F-sharp minor3:415"Prelude" from Partita No. 3 for Solo Violin3:506Etude in C-sharp minor2:187Mazurka in F-sharp minor2:248Three-Part Invention No. 101:009Melody in E-flat3:1510Presto in G minor I after Bach1:4411"Prelude" from Suite for Unaccompanied Cello No. 12:1512Three-Part Invention No. 151:1613Moto Perpetuo3:4414Keyboard Sonata in D minor K. 2133:1615Two-Part Invention No. 62:3316"Adagio Sostenuto" from "Moonlight" Sonata5:0717Two-Part Invention No. 110:5718Seven Variations on "God Save the King"9:0919Three-Part Invention No. 72:1220Moto Perpetuo (Bluegrass version)2:392004 · studio album
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Tracklist · 20 tracks · 2:04:48
Disc 11Bug Tussle4:562Invention No. 100:533Pile-Up6:554Prelude No. 243:005Solar3:596Blue Spruce8:457Canon4:278The One I Left Behind5:019Menuett I-II from Partita No. 12:1110Prelude No. 21:3911Palmyra10:3312The Lake Effect3:1513Largo from Sonata3:1114Allegro Vivace from Sonata1:1415Wrong Number3:0016Woolly Mammoth7:4517Wishful Thinking2:56Disc 21Obstinato: Making Music for Two38:562Green Slime5:233Happy Drum Drum Monkey Girl6:492007 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 57:12
1Señorita5:212Spectacle4:403Joban Dna Nopia6:294Mountain3:545Children's Song #64:026A Strange Romance4:477Menagerie5:538Waltse for Abby3:039Brazil5:5910The Enchantment5:4011Sunset Road4:3812Skit2:46Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions
2009 · studio album
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Tracklist · 42 tracks · 3:23:02
Disc 11Tulinesangala2:512Kinetsa4:163Ah Ndiya3:504Kabibi2:305Angelina2:516D'Gary Jam6:167Throw Down Your Heart5:088Thula Mama4:009Wairenziante2:5510Buribalal4:3311Zawose3:2012Ajula/Mbamba4:3113Pakugyenda Balebauo2:5914Jesus Is the Only Answer3:2515Matitu4:1916Mariam3:5117Djorolen5:0518Dunia Haina Wema/Thumb Fun7:14Disc 21Spirit Song4:272Salam Aleikum4:433Chant4:264The Rights Of Man / Ya Fama6:095Kamungoro2:326Kandjo5:527Obughangwa4:098Soumauro3:489Furaha4:3010Mar Rano5:4411Jesus Of Banjul4:2512Mali Jam5:1913Kayi Ni Wura5:4814Old Joe Jatta6:03Disc 31Bamako6:282Nashville3:513Snug Harbor8:034Elyne Road8:485Matitu/Buribalal4:496Manchester7:047Katmandu5:038Kauonding Sissoko5:459Throw Down Your Heart4:2210Dueling Banjos7:00Throw Down Your Heart, Tales From the Acoustic Planet, Volume 3: Africa Sessions
2009 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:13:35
1Tulinesangala2:512Kinetsa4:163Ah Ndiya3:474Kabibi2:285Angelina2:496D'Gary Jam6:157Throw Down Your Heart5:088Thula Mama4:009Wairenziante2:5210Buribalal4:3211Zawose3:2012Ajula / Mbamba4:3013Pakugyenda Balebauo2:5814Jesus Is the Only Answer3:2515Matitu4:1916Mariam3:5017Djorolen5:0118Dunia Haina Wema / Thumb Fun7:14The Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto & Music for Trio
2009 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:03:28
1Babar6:112Out of the Blue4:583Bubbles7:124The Melody of Rhythm: Movement 111:515The Melody of Rhythm: Movement 26:266The Melody of Rhythm: Movement 39:397Cadence3:568In Conclusion6:349Then Again6:41Throw Down Your Heart: Africa Sessions, Part 2
2010 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:07:55
1Spirit Song4:272Salam Aleikum4:433Chant4:264The Rights of Man / Ya Fama6:095Kamungoro2:326Kandjo5:527Obughangwa4:098Soumauro3:489Furaha4:3010Mar Rano5:4411Jesus of Banjul4:2512Mali Jam5:1913Kayi ni Wura5:4814Old Joe Jatta6:032012 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:02:52
1Some Roads Lead Home6:172I'm Gonna Tell You This Story One More Time5:423Across the Imaginary Divide4:434Let Me Show You What To Do4:555Petunia5:016Topaika4:347One Blue Truth4:278Let's Go5:589Kalimba6:2210The Sunshine and the Moonlight5:3711That Old Thing5:0812That Ragtime Feeling4:082013 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 1:01:51
1The Impostor Concerto: Infiltration12:172The Impostor Concerto: Integration11:093The Impostor Concerto: Truth Revealed12:404Night Flight Over Water: Tumbledown Creek10:345Night Flight Over Water: Hunter's Moon5:276Night Flight Over Water: the Escape9:442014 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 46:11
1Railroad3:382Ride to You4:183What'cha Gonna Do3:494Little Birdie4:225New South Africa4:376Pretty Polly3:467Shotgun Blues3:198For Children: No. 3 Quasi Ad Agio, No. 10 Allegro Molto - Children's Dance2:229And Am I Born to Die4:0410Banjo Banjo3:5311What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?4:3512Bye Bye Baby Blues3:282017 · studio album
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Tracklist · 5 tracks · 50:49
1Juno Concerto: Movement I11:182Juno Concerto: Movement II9:423Juno Concerto: Movement III8:414Griff14:375Quintet for Banjo and Strings: Movement II6:312017 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 46:33
1Over the Divide3:052Take Me to Harlan4:073Let It Go3:584Don’t Let It Bring You Down3:275Sally in the Garden / Big Country / Molly Put the Kettle On7:406My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains4:447Hello Friend3:138If I Could Talk to a Younger Me3:229On This Winding Road3:1910Come All You Coal Miners3:5311Bloomin’ Rose5:452020 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:01:13
1Bamako6:282Nashville3:513Snug Harbor8:034Elyne Road8:485Matitu/Buribalal4:496Manchester7:047Katmandu5:038Kauonding Sissoko5:459Throw Down Your Heart4:2210Dueling Banjos7:002021 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:45:52
Disc 11Vertigo5:182The Old North Woods4:573Slippery Eel4:234Hug Point5:195Boulderdash7:016Our Little Secret6:267Round Rock6:108Baptist Pumpkin Farm6:129Charm School8:03Disc 21Strider7:272This Old Road4:553Us Chickens3:594Sour Grapes4:055Hunky Dory5:476Tentacle Dragon (Revenge of the)5:537Bum's Rush5:328Hunter's Moon6:189Wheels Up4:1510Psalm 1363:522023 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:15:18
1Motion4:562The B Tune9:173Tradewinds Bengali5:304J Bhai6:125Rickety Karma4:47619806:187Owl’s Misfortune4:338Pashto8:249Hidden Lake4:5410Beast in the Garden7:0111Conundrum8:2212As We Speak5:042024 · studio album
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Tracklist · 5 tracks · 43:35
1Rhapsody in Blue(grass)12:102Unidentified Piece for Banjo3:193Rhapsody in Blue18:504Rhapsody in Blue(s)5:085Rialto Ripples4:082024 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:03:49
1The Otter Creek Incident6:292impromptu III: march hare1:543Enut Nital5:364impromptu II: mock turtle2:145Bemsha Swing5:396Lucky Bounce6:307impromptu I: cheshire1:348Remembrance6:279Juno5:4110Scarlatti Sonatas7:2211impromptu V: jabberwocky1:4712Small Potatoes3:4113Continuance7:2914impromptu IV: gentleman fish1:262025 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:05:40
1Archipelago5:482Pellucidar7:143Kaleidoscopes5:354Countryside5:595Cloak and Dagger6:206Whispers of Resilience6:277coda4:098Walnut and Western4:579Three is Not a Crowd5:3710Hooligan Harbor7:5711Touch and Go5:372026 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 42:10
1He's Gone Away / Storms Are On the Ocean6:112In the Pines4:483The Fiddle and the Drum5:094My Epitaph3:235The Scarlet Tide3:416The Cuckoo4:497Blackest Crow4:478Scarlet Ribbons3:389he's gone away (reprise)1:4910Pretty Bird3:55
Album · 10
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | DaybreakSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 18 tracks · 1:05:421Texas Barbeque3:58 2Spain7:10 3Twilight2:01 4Reading in the Dark2:37 5Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman1:39 6How Can You Face Me Now4:52 7Bill Cheatham3:14 8Christina’s Jig / Plain Brown Jig3:50 9Silverbell2:55 10Fiddler’s Dream2:47 11Daybreak2:58 12Dawg’s Due2:58 13Flexibility4:10 14Old Hickory Waltz4:52 15Crossfire3:25 16Applebutter2:41 17The Natural Bridge Suite6:54 18Punchdrunk2:41 | Compilation | 1987 | |
| 1987 | PlacesSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 18 tracks · 1:11:311Deviation4:27 2Reverie1:33 3Nuns for Nixon4:10 4Malone1:09 5Moontides5:36 6Another Morning3:26 7Lowdown3:33 8The Bullfrog Shuffle1:33 9Places7:09 10Snakes Alive4:22 11Ladies and Gentleman2:21 12Light Speed2:30 13Ireland6:51 14Four Wheel Drive3:58 15Perplexed6:23 16The Old Country2:58 17Hudson's Bay5:23 18Close to Home4:09 | Compilation | 1987 | |
| 1997 | Telluride Bluegrass Festival SoundboardSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 17 tracks1Pastor Mustard's Intro 2Chromium Picolinate - Part 1 3Chromium Picolinate - Part 2 4Chromium Picolinate - Part 3 5Child's Play - Part 1 6Child's Play - Part 2 7Child's Play - Part 3 8Travis 9Gypsy Aires - Part 1 10Gypsy Aires - Part 2 11The Green Slime 12Sliding Down 13The Big Cheese 14Applause - Part 1 15Applause - Part 2 16Natchez Trace 17Whitewater | Live | 22 June 1997 | |
| 2002 | Live 7-30-2002Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 24 tracks · 1:54:43Disc 1 1Arkansas Traveler3:31 2Bach: Two-Part Invention No. 111:16 3Bach: Two-Part Invention No.62:30 4Solar (Miles Davis)4:13 5A Tune12:13 6Duet (Meyer)6:01 7Edgar solo3:22 8Tchaikovsky: Melody in E-Flat3:00 9Paganini: Moto Perpetuo6:17 10Pile-Up7:01 Disc 21Communication/No Man's Land8:07 2Bach: Two-Part Invention No. 100:52 3Bach: Prelude in C Minor (Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1)1:51 4B Tune10:40 5Happy Drum Drum Monkey Girl9:59 6Canon4:24 7Green Slime (Meyer)5:13 8Henry Eccles: Violin Sonata in G Minor First Movement2:54 9Second Movement1:39 10Third Movement1:44 11Fourth Movement1:13 12Bach: Prelude from Partita No. 3 For Solo Violin5:09 13Woolly Mammoth7:20 14Encore4:14 | Live | 30 July 2002 | |
| 2015 | TwoSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 20 tracks · 1:54:50Disc 1 1[CC’s intro]0:52 2Señorita8:26 3Menagerie10:26 4[BF on the Waltse]1:01 5Waltse for Abby8:26 6[CC and BF on Joban]1:37 7Joban Dna Nopia9:20 8The Climb3:44 9Mountain5:30 Disc 21Brazil9:01 2The Enchantment9:47 3[BF on Bugle Call]0:17 4Bugle Call Rag3:39 5[CC and BF on Dutilleux]1:01 6Au Gré des Ondes: Prelude en Berceuse3:35 7Children’s Song no. 614:49 8[CC and BF on Spectacle]2:23 9Spectacle6:34 10Sunset Road10:30 11Armando’s Rhumba3:52 | Live | 11 September 2015 | |
| 2026 | Live Heart: My Bluegrass Heart at the RymanSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 20 tracks · 2:04:361Blue Mountain Hop6:55 2Vertigo6:44 3This Old Road5:39 4Slippery Eel4:22 5Hug Point5:03 6Round Rock6:51 7Old North Woods4:39 8Us Chickens4:26 9Tentacle Dragon (Revenge of the)12:22 10Psalm 1364:23 11Strider7:42 12Our Little Secret6:57 13Charm School9:16 14Wheels Up5:25 15Hunter’s Moon7:22 16Baptist Pumpkin Farm7:36 17Boulderdash7:20 18When the Storm Is Over2:56 19Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day4:32 20Tennessee4:06 | Live | 16 October 2026 | |
| — | 1998-01-17: Seattle, WA, USASearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 21 tracksDisc 1 1Another Morning 2Lochs of Dread 3Lights of Home 4Pushed Too Far 5[unknown] 6Spain 7Show Banter 8Cheeseballs in Cowtown Disc 21Intro 2Medley 3Banter 4Passing the Bar 5More Banter 6Duke and Cookie 7Sweet Maiden's Fair 8Spanish Inquisition 9Bela Solo 10Green Acres 11Medley 12Slipstream 13[unknown] | Live | — | |
| — | 1999-09-05: Strawberry Festival, Yosemite, CA, USASearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 1:13:001Intro0:33 2Blue Mountain7:15 3Ginseng Sullivan3:08 4Banter1:01 5Wheel Hoss4:43 6Polka on the Banjo4:19 7C Medley9:39 8Spanish Point9:23 9Whitehouse Blues6:34 10Hide and Go Seek7:04 11Leather Britches7:10 12Blues Intro1:59 13Sailin Shoes4:52 14Crossroads4:07 15Sailin Shoes1:13 | Live | — | |
| — | Live at Paste Studio NYC, Dec 7, 2017Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks · 15:351Sally in the Garden / Big Country / Molly Put the Kettle On7:42 2Bloomin' Rose3:58 3Take Me to Harlan3:55 | Live | — | |
| — | Live at Paste Studio NYC, Apr 5, 2017Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks · 10:181Star-Spangled Banner2:49 2Free Improv2:40 3Bach Partita No. 1003 / Sinister Minister4:49 | Live | — |
Broadcast · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Tiny Desk ConcertSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Bubbles 2Bahar | Live | 26 July 2010 | |
| 2022 | Paste Studio - May 27, 2022Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks1Improvisation 2Charm School 3Round Rock | Live | 27 May 2022 |
EP · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | It's Raining Banjo: Daytrotter Studio, Rock Island, IL, USASearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 5 tracks · 14:111Welcome to Daytrotter 2Burabalal2:52 3Throw Down Your Heart4:16 4Matitu2:50 5Waves4:13 | Live | 26 January 2011 | |
| 2015 | Banjo BanjoSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 6 tracks · 23:391Banjo Banjo (live)5:07 2Hao Hua Hong3:42 3Shotgun Blues (live)4:09 4Evening in Transylvania2:24 5Railroad (live)4:40 6The Final Countdown3:37 | 21 August 2015 |
Single · 8
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Atroce (Extended Version)Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 1:281Atroce (extended version)1:28 | 2 April 2020 | ||
| 2020 | Christmas Time’s a Coming (And I Know I’m Staying Home)Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 3:361Christmas Time’s a Coming (And I Know I’m Staying Home)3:36 | 18 December 2020 | ||
| 2021 | I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be FreeSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 3:12AI Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free BSee by Faith3:12 | 12 June 2021 | ||
| 2024 | Rhapsody in Blue (grass)Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 15:291Rhapsody in Blue(grass)12:10 2Unidentified Piece for Banjo3:19 | 5 January 2024 | ||
| 2026 | In the PinesSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 4:481In the Pines4:48 | 20 March 2026 | ||
| 2026 | My EpitaphSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 3:231My Epitaph3:23 | 22 April 2026 | ||
| 2026 | Blue Mountain HopSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 6:551Blue Mountain Hop6:55 | Live | 2 September 2026 | |
| 2026 | TennesseeSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 4:061Tennessee4:06 | Live | 30 September 2026 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Béla Fleck head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 20 | 81.1th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 54 | 94.8th |
| Studio albums | 32 | 98.4th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 34 | 97.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 47 | 88th |
| Genres | 8 | 94.5th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum(band) | — | present | |
| Strength in Numbers(band) | — | present | |
| New Grass Revival(band) | — | present | |
| The Dreadful Snakes(band) | — | present | |
| Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet(band) | — | present | |
| Acoustic All-stars(band) | — | present | background vocals |
| Acoustic All-stars(band) | — | present | banjo |
| BEATrio(band) | — | present | five-string banjo |
| Tasty Licks(band) | — | present | |
| Béla Fleck and the Flecktones(band) | 1989 | present | eponymous |
| Trio!(band) | 2005 | 2005 | banjo,original |
| Béla Fleck & My Bluegrass Heart(band) | 28 July 2021 | present | banjo,original |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belafleck.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e1a889b7-5e45-447f-baa0-b9c6cbc0d39fdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e1a889b7-5e45-447f-baa0-b9c6cbc0d39fcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q561390genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q561390seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_Fleckbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_Fleck
Why this artist is in the database
- List of bluegrass musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Tom Martorelli from United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q561390 · MusicBrainz: e1a889b7-5e45-447f-baa0-b9c6cbc0d39f
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