I've seen Bela with the Flecktones several times and they have become one of the bands that I will never miss when they come to town. But nothing I've ever witnessed in the past could have prepared me for this. It was truly a revelation. Edgar Meyer, who I had never heard of before a month or so ago, is recognized as probably the leading virtuoso of the stand-up double bass in muiltiple genres, including classical, bluegrass and jazz. In this show he played his bass most of the time, and piano on a few pieces.
The program of music that they play pretty much defies categorization. They play classical pieces (Bach, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn), jazz (Miles Davis), bluegrass, and many self-composed pieces that sometimes sound like a combination of one or all of the above. The Bach, incredibly, sounded like it could have been written for banjo and bass.
Anyhow, Bela was the incredible instrumentalist that I'm used to seeing. Meyer made music thay you would not think possible from that huge fiddle. Often switching off from plucking to bowing, the low registers go straight to your head, and he can get up almost into the viola or violin range by playing almost all the way up to the bridge on the highest string.
The subtle interplay between these two musicians, who have been friends for close to 20 years, was incredible, and from our tenth row center orchaestra seats we felt like we were right in the middle of it. The awesome acoustics of the venue only added to the experience. On his solos, expecially when using the bow, Meyer has an almost athletic dexterity that allows him to play with a velocity and touch that you would think impossible from such a bulky instrument.
If you have a chance to check out their CD, "Music for Two", do it. It includes a sample DVD that Bela's brother made of them in concert, backstage, and rehearsing. The CD was recorded live and really captures the feeling of the show.
Listen to some samples on Amazon...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... c&n=507846