Béla Fleck and the
Flecktones to play at Purdue in September
By Nate Cross
Staff Writer
To say that banjo player Béla Fleck has
transcended musical genres might be an understatement.
Béla Fleck has been nominated for Grammy
Awards in bluegrass, Christian, composition, country, jazz, spoken word
and world music categories. At 8 p.m. on Friday, September 28, in Loeb
Playhouse Béla Fleck and his band, the Flecktones, will perform
at Purdue.
September's performance will be the first time
the Flecktones have performed at Purdue, but it isn't the first time
Béla Fleck has been to Purdue.
In the fall of 1997, Fleck performed with Edgar
Meyer and Mike Marshall as part of a classical music series. The show
was a success and Purdue has been trying to get Fleck back since last
year because he is such a well-known and popular musician, according
to Laura Clavio, assistant director of Convocations.
Clavio, also the advisor to the Student Concert
Committee, expects this show to sell well and thinks it may sell-out
Loeb Playhouse, which has a capacity of 1000.
"We know he's extremely popular and he has a tremendous
following," she said.
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones won a Grammy
for the song "Sinister Minister". Performing around 200 shows annually,
the group has opened for bands such as Phish, Sting and The Dave Matthews
Band.
The Flecktones' bass player, Victor Wooten, has
a successful solo career. Drummer Future Man plays an electronic drum
machine he wears like a guitar, while Jeff Coffin, the wind instrument
player, sometimes plays multiple reed instruments at the same time in
concert.
Clavio suggests that people who haven't heard Béla
Fleck and the Flecktones, but are fans of jazz, bluegrass and pop, would
like the band's fusion of the genres.
Rocky Scaletta, a senior in the Schools of Engineering,
is looking forward to the show because he thinks Victor Wooten is the
best bass player in the world and also because the band's live show
is unpredictable. "They put on a really good live show and play stuff
that's not on their albums. It's so much different than what you hear
on the CD," said Scaletta.
· The tickets cost $27.50 plus an additional
box office service fee of $1. Tickets will go on sale for Purdue students,
faculty and staff today and Tuesday and sales to the general public
will begin Wednesday, August 30. Tickets will be on sale at the Purdue
box offices or can be charged by phone at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW.
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