The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 2
Béla Fleck, the banjo-wizard leader of the fringe-jazz quartet the Flecktones, returns to more-bluegrass-oriented concerns with this 18-song outing, a complement to 1988'sDriveand a more-traditional follow-up to 1995's fusion-leaningTales from the Acoustic Planet. Most of these songs are instrumentals boastingDrive's core group ofSam Bushon mandolin, Stuart Duncan on fiddle,Tony Riceon guitar,Jerry Douglason Dobro, and bassist Mark Schatz; they're augmented in spots by fine guest players such asVassar Clements,John Hartford, and the incomparable banjo pioneerEarl Scruggs. Fleck's spidery, tasteful plucking style lends originals like "Major Honker" and "Katmandu" an ever-so-slightly offbeat air, while he gives classics like Scruggs's "Foggy Mountain Special" and "Polka on the Banjo" traditional readings that wouldn't be out of place at the Opry. Flecktones fans will find much to like in Fleck's rootsy playing, and so will bluegrass purists.--Gregory McNamee