Music for Two - Béla Fleck & Edgar Meyer (2001) [Classical][mp3

Music for Two - Béla Fleck & Edgar Meyer
Audio CD: April 27, 2004
Label: Sony
Format: Live
Bitrate: 320 kbps

On Music for Two, banjo wizard Béla Fleck and stand-up bass maestro Edgar Meyer effortlessly sail through a challenging program that includes compositions by Bach, a sonata by Henry Eccles, a Miles Davis tune, and a number of self-composed finger twisters. The amazing thing about this varied selection is not its eclecticism--which is only to be expected with these two--but that it all blends together so seamlessly. Fleck's jazz-tinged compositions (like "The Lake Effect" ) and Meyer's bluegrass-inspired tunes (like "Wishful Thinking" ) sit so comfortably next to Bach's baroque jewels and Davis's cool jazz that it makes you question the entire of concept of musical classification. (In fact, the Bach preludes, inventions, and partitas translate so well to the banjo/bass arrangements, you have to wonder if old JSB might not have had a bit of bluegrass in his soul.) Music for Two was recorded live at a series of 2001 concerts, where Fleck and Meyer proved conclusively that the banjo and the bass were capable of remarkable subtlety and not just twang and boom. ~ Michael John Simmons

Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer are the unequivocal masters of their respective instruments, the banjo and the string bass, and have been such close friends for so long that a colloborative effort seems like a natural evolution of their ouvre. Indeed, the beauty of this disc is that the music does not get bogged down under the weight of their combined musical genius. On Music for Two, a Sony Classical release, Fleck and Meyer weave intricate tapestries of sound, combining straight classical transcriptions of Bach (the original classical virtuoso and arguably the touchstone for all of western music) with improvised tunes from their own repertoire. "Bug-Tussle" and "Pile Up" are upbeat, catchy newgrass charts that are heavy on the improv. "Blue Spruce" is a new-agey Flecktune featuring Bela in a semi-rare performance on the six-string guitar and Edgar on piano. "Wrong Number" pulls a fast one on the live audience, as an interrupting cell phone becomes an elaborate gag that is worked into the song itself. And the Bach transcriptions are not only 100% faithful, but 100% flawless. The added DVD only enhances the listening experience, as you get to see fingers and hands in action, making the virtuosity of Fleck and Meyer even more apparent. In the end, "Music for Two" proves that sometimes when you combine two musical talents of this caliber, one plus one equals MUCH more than just two. ~ Dustin Georgemiller

Personnel:
Bela Fleck - guitar, banjo
Edgar Meyer - piano, double bass

Music for Two - Béla Fleck & Edgar Meyer DETAILED Tracks: (With Bela Fleck & Edgar Meyer)

Bug Tussle
Composed by Bela Fleck

Three-Part Invention (Sinfonia), for keyboard No. 10 in G major, BWV 796 (BC L51)
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

Pile-up
Composed by Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer

Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 24 in B minor (WTC I/24), BWV 869 (BC L103) Prelude No. 24
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

Solar
Composed by Miles Davis

Blue Spruce
Composed by Bela Fleck

Canon
Composed by Edgar Meyer

The One I Left Behind
Composed by Bela Fleck

Partita for keyboard No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825 (BC L1) Menuett I-II
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 2 in C minor (WTC I/2), BWV 847 (BC L81) Prelude No. 2
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

Palmyra
Composed by Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer

The Lake Effect
Composed by Bela Fleck

Sonata for double bass in G minor Largo
Composed by Henry Eccles

Sonata for double bass in G minor Allegro Vivace
Composed by Henry Eccles

Wrong Number
Composed by Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer

Woolly Mammoth
Composed by Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer

Wishful Thinking, for double bass
Composed by Edgar Meyer

Music for Two - Béla Fleck & Edgar Meyer Tracks:
01 Bug Tussle
02 Three-Part Invention
03 Pile-Up
04 Prelude No. 24 (From the Well-Tempered Clavier, Second Book)
05 Solar
06 Blue Spruce
07 Canon
08 One I Left Behind, The
09 V. Menuett I-II From Partita No. 1
10 Prelude No. 2
11 Palmyra
12 Lake Effect, The
13 Largo From Sonata
14 Allegro Vivace From Sonata
15 Wrong Number
16 Wooley Mamouth
17 Wishful Thinking