Rhapsody In Blue

Bela Fleck is arguably the greatest musician ever to play the banjo, and with this 2024 release, he accomplished an unprecedented feat; he topped both bluegrass and crossover classical charts in the U.S. The multiple chart placements are appropriate, for what one finds on the album is not simply a banjo arrangement of Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue, as one might suppose from the graphics, but multiple versions of that great work. The album opens with Rhapsody in Blue(grass), featuring a variety of players from Flecks compatriots in the world of progressive bluegrass; the work fits Gershwins melodic content into motor rhythms, and in general, it makes the Rhapsody in Blue quite effectively into a progressive blues piece. There is also Rhapsody in Blue(s), with a big assist from jazz bassist Victor Wooten; this is a more improvisatory treatment of the Rhapsody in Blue, teasing out its much-discussed blues content. Perhaps these two more highly altered treatments work better than the actual transcription of the Rhapsody in Blue for banjo and orchestra; Flecks own notes testify to the struggle involved in transferring piano music to the banjo. Mileage may vary here, and the experiment is interesting, at the very least. Bonuses are present in the form of two short pieces, Rialto Ripples, which, as Fleck notes, was written for the piano but could just as easily have been a banjo work, and the recently rediscovered Unidentified Piece for Banjo, a genuine rarity. Recommended for bluegrass lovers, Gershwin lovers, and, for that matter, listeners who are new to both. ~ James Manheim