Grammy winners banjo master Bela Fleck, bassist Edgar Meyer and tabla player Zakir Hussain composed “The Melody of Rhythm Concerto,” commissioned for the opening of the Nashville Symphony’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center in 2006. The work incorporates Indian classical rhythms, American roots and orchestral structure. Conducted by Leonard Slatkin, it was so well received that the trio recorded it with several new compositions and released it as “The Melody of Rhythm — Triple Concerto and Music for Trio,” backed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Slatkin conducting again.
If you go
The Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer Trio with the Chick Corea Freedom Band
Where: 8 p.m. Tuesday
When: Wolf Trap Filene Center
Info: $42 in-house, $25 lawn; 877-965-3872; wolftrap.org
The trio will perform selections from the album at Wolf Trap, the next stop on an intense cross-country tour that began at the Williamsburg Festival over Memorial Day weekend. “People don’t focus on the fact that the banjo, double bass and tabla are all rhythm instruments,” Hussain said. “Bela is known for his versatility in playing everything from bluegrass to jazz, and Edgar [a MacArthur Genius Award winner] is equally at home playing and composing both popular and symphonic pieces. When we got together for the commission, our goal was to explore the traditional elements of each instrument, from bluegrass to Indian ragas, put them in a frying pan and come up with a palatable dish.
“To start, they asked me to introduce some Indian melodic ideas, and then, with Edgar’s classical background, we found ways of introducing them into the world of harmony without being disrespectful to Ravi Shankar. He wrote music based on the Indian raga but shied away from introducing harmony.
“The tabla can support the bass harmonically, but it doesn’t deal with chord changes. I can hold on to one note, say a B, all the way through one composition, while the others find chords and counterpoints that work.”
The tabla is a pair of hand drums, one larger than the other, used throughout India for centuries in classical, devotional and popular music. The player can create many sounds and pitches with deft use of the fingers and palms. The smaller drum made of teak and rosewood is tuned to a specific note, while the larger drum can be made of brass, copper or other materials. Both are covered with goat or cow skin that wears and must be replaced every year or so.
Hussain has two sets of tablas more than 30 years old that he transports in special weatherproof cases. They were given to him by his father and teacher, Alla Rakha, one of India’s most famous tabla players. After absorbing his father’s wisdom, Hussain left India in 1971 and began a lifelong collaboration with percussionist Mickey Hart, drummer with the Grateful Dead and former pupil of Hussain’s father.
“Somehow you meet a person and discover you’re both on the same wavelength,” Hussain said. “I went with him to the Grateful Dead ranch, where I had the freedom to relax in music, explore my instrument and experiment. Over the years, we met all the great drumming masters throughout the world. The outcome was our ‘Global Drum Project’ that won a Grammy in 2009 for the Best Contemporary World Music Album.”
Along the way, Hussain has appeared in several films in both Bollywood and Hollywood; composed and played on Francis Coppola’s “Apocalpyse Now” soundtrack, among others; collaborated with John McLaughlin on several Indo-jazz projects; and has spent time as a full professor in the Princeton University music department and as a visiting professor at Stanford.
“The rise of world music has brought us a new kind of audience that practices awareness on a global scale,” he said. “They arrive at a concert knowledgeable and attentive because they’ve Googled you and listened to your recordings before coming. I’m proud to be part of a chain of august musicians who have brought this about.”
