Banjo. Drums. Harp. Huh?
To be sure, the new all-star trio of Béla Fleck, harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez features instrumentation that might safely be called uncommon. Unless, of course, you’re already familiar with 19-time Grammy-winner Fleck — the genre-blurring virtuoso who has done more to expand the possibilities of the banjo than any other player in the instrument’s history. From his bluegrass beginnings through his otherworldly Flecktones, his duo with Chick Corea and his reimagining of Rhapsody in Blue, Fleck’s work never fails to surprise. What doesn’t surprise is the impeccable caliber of his collaborators — and this new trio includes two of the most gifted musicians of their generation. The harpist, Castañeda, hails from Bogotá, Colombia, and has led his own bands in addition to sharing projects with such masters as Hiromi, Paquito D’Rivera and Grégoire Maret. 5-time Grammy-winner Sánchez grew up in Mexico City and built a reputation as one of the great jazz drummers through his work with guitarist Pat Metheny. He’s also been a visionary bandleader, helming progressive groups like Bad Hombre, and collaborated with Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker and other giants. His Golden Globe-nominated drum-set score for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2014 film Birdman earned him renown far outside the jazz world.
Playing original repertoire, much of it collaboratively written, this trio embarks nightly on fearless explorations that audiences will find irresistible — rich with strong melodies, gorgeous harmony and grooves that twist and turn while feeling fantastic.
Artist Bios
Béla Fleck Just in case you aren’t familiar with Béla Fleck, there are many who say he’s the premiere banjo player in the world. Others claim that Fleck has virtually reinvented the image and the sound of the banjo through a remarkable performing and recording career that has taken him all over the musical map and on a range of solo projects and collaborations. If you are familiar with Fleck, you know that he just loves to play the banjo, and put it into unique settings. A nineteen-time Grammy Award-winner, Fleck has the virtuosic, jazz-to-classical ingenuity of an iconic instrumentalist and composer with bluegrass roots. For over 30 years, he has led Béla Fleck and The Flecktones, the groundbreaking quartet inspired by jazz, funk, bluegrass and beyond. From writing three banjo concertos for full symphony orchestra to exploring the banjo’s African roots with the award-winning 2009 documentary Throw Down Your Heart, many tout that Béla Fleck is the world’s premier banjo player. As Jon Pareles wrote for The New York Times, “That’s a lot of territory for five strings.” Collaborators include Abigail Washburn, the Brooklyn Rider String Quartet, Chris Thile, The Blind Boys of Alabama, McCoy Tyner, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, and Rakesh Chaurasia (their latest album As We Speak won two Grammys in 2024). Fleck’s album Rhapsody in Blue was released February 12, 2024 on the centennial of the work’s premiere in New York City, and he debuted it at Carnegie Hall with orchestra in May. His Grammy-winning project My Bluegrass Heart, is named in honor of his friend, mentor and hero Chick Corea (My Spanish Heart). Béla and Chick toured for many years as a duo and released three acclaimed albums, including their latest and final duo project, Remembrance (2024), which won the 2025 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
Edmar Castañeda
Upon arriving in the United States in 1994, Colombian-born Edmar Castañeda made a name for himself as the preeminent jazz harp virtuoso. Castañeda brings forth a brilliance that beautifully merges the jazz tradition with a diverse set of styles and genres while bringing unbridled attention to a somewhat unfamiliar instrument: the harp. He was ushered into the jazz community by Paquito D’Rivera, who recognized Castañeda’s passion and took the young harpist under his wing. Castañeda has cemented the harp’s place in jazz with innovative technique and heartfelt creativity from a wealth of formidable collaborations with music titans such as Wynton Marsalis, Bela Fleck, John Scofield, Ricki Lee Jones, Hiromi, Pedrito Martinez, Marcus Miller, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ivan Lins, The Yellowjackets, and Paco De Lucia. In the same breath as the Yo-Yo Ma’s of the world, Castañeda fearlessly stuns audiences, musicians, and critics alike with his incredible talents as a player and composer. NPR’s “Fresh Air” touts, “…his technique is the real astonishment. Castañeda juggles lead, rhythm and bass lines, using a variety of hard and soft string attacks to keep those voices distinct — all without giving up the groove…His amazing technique…raises the bar for every harpist.” The New York Times notes, “…Castañeda… engage[s] modern jazz in ways that honor…cultural origins, and [he has] the capacity to astonish by virtue of [his] fingerstyle technique.” Moses Sumney highlights his “5 Favorite NPR “Tiny Desk Concerts” and says, “My brain cracked open when I first saw this. Some classical instruments are so ingrained in our heads for sounding one way; Edmar restructures what we know of harp, defiantly expanding the bounds of the instrument.” Castañeda follows up seven acclaimed albums with his latest recording project, Viento Sur, with a nine-person ensemble of acclaimed global musicians from Switzerland, Brazil, Cuba, Israel, Chile, USA, Argentina, and Colombia. An array of compositions on Viento Sur are commissioned by American Chamber Music from the “New Jazz Works Grant.” Castañeda’s renowned albums as a bandleader are interchanged with awe-inspiring symphonic and big-band works with Wynton Marsalis Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Clássica de Espinho and the São Paulo Jazz Symphony Orchestra, as well as chamber pieces for the Israel Camerata Jerusalem and the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia.
Antonio Sánchez
Born in Mexico City, 4-time Grammy Award winner Antonio Sa´nchez began playing the drums at age five and performed professionally in his early teens in Mexico’s rock, jazz and latin scenes. He pursued a degree in classical piano at the National Conservatory in Mexico and in 1993 enrolled in Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in Jazz Studies. Since moving to New York City in 1999, Sa´nchez has become one of the most sought-after drummers on the international jazz scene. Following 18 years and 9 albums as one of the most revered collaborators with guitarist/composer Pat Metheny, he also has recorded and performed with many other most prominent artists like Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden and Toots Thielmans. In 2014 Sa´nchez’s popularity soared when he scored Alejandro Gonza´lez In~a´rritu’s Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) which ended up fetching 4 Academy awards (including best picture) and for which Sa´nchez won a Grammy award. Additional film/tv projects include EPIX network's Get Shorty and Hippopotamus among others. With more than a dozen recordings as a leader or co-leader, Sa´nchez's recent projects include the acclaimed epic The Meridian Suite and the star studded Three Times Three. He turned his upset over social injustice into a tribute to every immigrant’s journey in his epic musical statement Lines in the Sand. Sa´nchez is the recipient of five Grammys, three Echo Awards, Golden Globe & BAFTA nominations and has been thrice named Modern Drummer’s "Jazz Drummer of the Year”. He has been featured on the covers of DownBeat, JazzTimes, JAZZIZ, Modern Drummer, Drum! and Musico Pro — among others. Sa´nchez’s new album SHIFT (Bad Hombre Vol. II) on Warner Music features Sa´nchez playing virtually every instrument on the album — in addition to being its producer. SHIFT features Trent Reznor, Dave Mathews, Kimbra, Ana Tijoux, Meshell Ndegeocello and more.
