Bela Fleck
Best known for
Banjo
Béla Fleck is the most decorated banjo player in history and one of the most recognized instrumentalists in any genre — an 18-time Grammy winner who has nominated in more categories than any other musician (country, pop, jazz, bluegrass, classical, folk, world music, composition, and arranging) and the artist most responsible for taking the five-string banjo into chamber, fusion, and African-music settings.
- Born Béla Anton Leoš Fleck on July 10, 1958 in New York City — named for the composers Béla Bartók, Anton Webern, and Leoš Janáček; first inspired to take up the banjo by Earl Scruggs's playing on the Beverly Hillbillies theme.
- Studied at New York City's High School of Music & Art and with Tony Trischka, releasing his debut solo album Crossing the Tracks on Rounder in 1979.
- Joined Sam Bush in New Grass Revival in 1981 alongside John Cowan and Pat Flynn; the lineup recorded for Sugar Hill, EMI America, and Capitol through 1989.
- Founded Béla Fleck and the Flecktones in 1988 with Victor Wooten, Howard Levy, and Roy "Future Man" Wooten — the genre-defying jazz-fusion-meets-banjo project that became his primary touring band for three decades.
- Released the bluegrass touchstones Drive (1988, Rounder — Grammy nominee for Best Bluegrass Album) and The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 2 (1999) with Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice, Vassar Clements, Earl Scruggs, John Hartford, and Tim O'Brien.
- Documented the West African origins of the banjo on the 2008 documentary and album Throw Down Your Heart, recording in Uganda, Tanzania, the Gambia, and Mali.
- Inducted into the IBMA Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of New Grass Revival.
- Returned to bluegrass on record after roughly two decades with My Bluegrass Heart (2021), which won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album at the 64th Grammy Awards in April 2022.
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Doc WatsonPlayed on recordings with Doc Watson
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The Dreadful SnakesPlayed on recordings with The Dreadful Snakes
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Bela FleckPlayed on recordings with Bela Fleck
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Tony RicePlayed on recordings with Tony Rice
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New Grass RevivalPlayed on recordings with New Grass Revival
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Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow QuartetPlayed on recording with Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet
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Aubrey HayniePlayed on recording with Aubrey Haynie
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Bela Fleck and Abigail WashburnPlayed on recording with Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn
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Bela Fleck and the FlecktonesPlayed on recording with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
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Bryan SuttonPlayed on recording with Bryan Sutton
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Dan CraryPlayed on recording with Dan Crary
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Michael ClevelandPlayed on recording with Michael Cleveland
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Phil LeadbetterPlayed on recording with Phil Leadbetter
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Ricky SkaggsPlayed on recording with Ricky Skaggs
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Sam BushPlayed on recording with Sam Bush
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Tony TrischkaPlayed on recording with Tony Trischka