UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance Presents Multi-Genre Musical Collaboration AS WE SPEAK

UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) presents an evening-length performance featuring Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer's As We Speak at Royce Hall on Saturday, November 18 at 8 pm. As We Speak showcases the breathtaking versatility of virtuoso musicians collaborating across entirely different musical realms — bluegrass for Fleck, Indian classical music for Hussain and Western classical music for Meyer. Rakesh Chaurasia, a master of the bansuri, an Indian bamboo flute, adds to the magic. Tickets start at $39 and are available now at cap.ucla.edu or 310-825-2101.

As We Speak, the quartet's latest album released in May of 2023, exhibits the group's skills as instrumentalists and covers a wide range of musical influences. The group, with Fleck on the banjo, Hussain on the tabla and Meyer on the bass, offers Indian rhythm and funk with Chaurasia joining on the flute. The performance will include improvisation that covers each artist's various musical genres.

Fleck started his career with the bluegrass group New Grass Revival. He formed the Flecktones, celebrating its 46th anniversary this year, a musical group whose repertoire  ranged from fusion to Bach. In addition, he played jazz with Chick Corea, American roots with his partner, banjoist Abigail Washburn, wrote concertos for banjo and orchestra and created a documentary film and album, Throw Down Your Heart, that examined the banjo's African roots. Fleck has won 16 Grammys across 10 categories in his career.

Hussain is appreciated as one of the world's most esteemed musicians and a master of his percussion instrument, the tabla. Accompanying India's greatest musicians and dancers from his early years, Hussain has been a part of many collaborations including Shakti, Remember Shakti, Masters of Percussion, Diga, Tabla Beat Science, CrossCurrents, Sangam and Grammy-award winners Planet Drum and Global Drum Project. A composer and educator, Hussain is the recipient of many honors, most recently the 2022 Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy, the 2022 Aga Khan Music Award for Lifetime Achievement and in January 2023, the title of Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award.

Described by The New Yorker as “the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively un-chronicled history of his instrument,” double bassist and composer Meyer is skilled in a variety of musical styles. A MacArthur Fellow and Avery Fisher Prize winner, he is most experienced in classical music, performing traditional works and his original solo, chamber and orchestral pieces. His 30-year relationship with cellist Yo-Yo Ma has produced seven recordings and his upcoming projects include a duo recording with jazz bassist Christian McBride and a recording of all four of his concertos with the Knights and the Scottish Ensemble, produced by Chis Thile.

Joining the group at Royce Hall is Chaurasia, a master of the techniques of Indian classical music. A composer as well as flutist, he has written and performed on numerous Indian movie soundtracks and in 2007 was awarded the Indian Music Academy Award.

The CAP UCLA 2023 fall programs continue on December 2 with Alarm Will Sound joined by guest artists Nathalie Joachim and Alyssa Pyper at The Nimoy.

ARTISTS: 

Béla Fleck - Banjo 

Zakir Hussain - Tabla 

Edgar Meyer - Bass

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