Fleck’s brilliance could not overcome bad judgment

The violin is a virtuoso instrument. So is the piano. So is virtually every instrument in the modern orchestra (certain percussion instruments excluded), but the banjo? Please!

Isn’t the banjo used primarily to accompany folk songs or to play bluegrass or theme music for TV shows (remember “the Beverly Hillbillies?”) or to showcase certain celebrities, Steve Martin, for example. But an artistic instrument? Again ...

Please!

Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck puts the lie to most, if not all, of the negative stereotypes about banjos and banjo players. He did so in Reynolds Hall on Saturday evening and proved once again that he is the unchallenged master of the instrument. Just close your eyes and in his hands the banjo can sound like a harp. Or a harpsichord. Or a mandolin. Or a guitar. Or almost anything but a banjo.

Traveling with Fleck is a string quartet, Brooklyn Rider. It seems they’re all from Brooklyn. I have no idea where the Rider part comes from, perhaps the subway. No matter what they call themselves, they’re darn good at what they do. So is Fleck; he is without a doubt the best in the business.

That having been said, Saturday’s program proved disappointing. Why? The technique on display was dazzling, the musicianship impeccable. So what was missing? Judgment. The judgment required to understand the makeup of an audience and plan a program that will either entertain them or challenge them intellectually.

Neither of those things happened Saturday, and that’s why a sense of disappointment prevailed.

All but one work were composed by Fleck, but even coming from the same source they each seemed disjointed and way too long. The centerpiece of the first of two sets was “Night Flight over Water,” by far the most interesting piece of Fleck’s product.

Even so, it required 25 minutes of playing time and never settled on a consistent form or even harmonic language on which the listener could focus for longer than a few seconds before having to shift intellectual gears time after time. Partway into the second section there appeared a direct lift of the old standard pop tune “Penthouse Serenade,” but it lasted only seconds before moving on to far less familiar waters.

Following intermission Brooklyn Rider appeared sans Fleck to perform a work created by two of its members following a return from an extended visit to the Middle East, where they had viewed some paintings from ancient Persia. Three such works inspired them to compose a musical suite titled “Three Miniatures,” whose structure and harmonic language made for one of the evening’s more interesting (and accessible) works.

The concert required 2½ hours to perform. Of this only six works were programmed, including the above mentioned “Miniatures.” A welcome change of pace occurred during the second portion when Fleck took the mic to reference his old friend, balladeer and songwriter Pete Seeger, whose death at 94 happened but days before.

Fleck played a five-to-six-minute medley of some of Seeger’s best-known songs, including “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “We Shall Overcome.” The audience was invited to sing along, but none of the performers supplied any direction so participation was weak.

The printed program was no help in guiding the audience through the evening’s offerings. It contained a brief biography of Bela Fleck and a recent recap of Brooklyn Rider, but no indication of what would be played, in what order, or the works’ significance.

It is obvious that Bela Fleck has a devoted following and deservedly so. He has been nominated for Grammys 30 times — in more categories than any other artist — and has won 14. Most of his devotees stayed until the overly long program ended, but unfortunately an estimated 20 to 25 percent of the audience had headed for the exits well before the house lights went up.