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Bela Fleck And The Flecktones
| Biography |
Bela Fleck was born in New York City on July 10, 1958. He caught the banjo bug from the Beverly Hillbillies theme, and his first banjo came at age 15. He had been playing folk guitar before his grandfather bought him a banjo, but the progress he made on the banjo was so rapid even his guitar teacher was amazed. In Bela's words, "suddenly I got into banjo and he was shocked at how fast I took to that".
Musically Formative Years
He went to the New York City High School of Music and Art at the age of fifteen, where he began on the French Horn but was quickly relegated to the choir (the banjo not being an acceptable instrument). He played in the band "Wicker's Creek" in the evenings.
After high school, he enrolled in the Julliard Extension School. This didn't work out, and he moved to Boston to play in the band Tasty Licks, fronted by Jack Tottle. He was 19.
In this learning time, he only took lessons from three people - Erik Darling, Marc Horowitz, and Tony Trischka. He cites Sting and Chick Corea as influences. |
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