Lucy Wang for THE HARVARD CRIMSON –
Stevie Wonder tunes, Latin dances, and jazzy melodies reverberated through Sanders Theatre among snaps and nodding heads as Béla Fleck and Victor Wooten strummed away on Saturday night. Sounds of Fleck’s banjo and Wooten’s bass paired together beautifully throughout the whole concert, sometimes mellow and sometimes bright, but always soulful and deeply engaging.
Long-term partners, Wooten and Fleck were original members of the band “The Flecktones”, which the latter started in 1988. The band has made numerous appearances throughout the years, including on screen with the “Tonight Show”, “Saturday Night Live”, and “Late Night with David Letterman.” Known for its diversified repertoire, the band created original fusions of classical, funk, bluegrass, rock, and world traditions that have won them six Grammy awards and wide acclaim.
Saturday’s performance was a manifestation of the band’s eclecticism. The show opener piece was upbeat and funky, and a couple of measures sounded awfully close to the famous opening chords of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. With such delightful surprises, as well as an impressive series of runs from Wooten, the duo established an engaging presence on stage. Their synchronization was precise and skillful, matched only by their movements back and forth on stage.
However, the slow and soulful pieces came across just as well. As Fleck and Wooten sat across from each other, gently strumming their acoustic broken chords on the strings, the music evoked a serene nighttime beach: The beat was rocking water slapping waves across the sand, and the alluring melody was the moonlight glittering over the sea.
(10/19/16)
Read the full review at The Harvard Crimson