Greetings from mid Summer...
I write from a small town in Italy called Modigliana.
I will be playing here on July 29 with Abigail Washburn, Rayna Gellert and Robyn Hitchcock at a small folk festival that has been happening for many years.
It's a lovely place to cool my heels after the strenuous and exciting tour of Europe with Edgar and Zakir.
Although the travel was very complicated, (imagine traveling around with a huge double bass that can not go under the plane) the gigs were fantastic and we had great times throughout - riding the trains, buses and planes though Spain, England, France and Romania to our concert and festival stages.
When not performing, practicing or traveling, I have been composing a lot.
I am preparing to write a banjo concerto during the next 8 months, which will present a lot of challenges and offer opportunities for learning and growth.
I am gearing up for the recording of a new Flecktones CD, which will take place this fall, so I have been getting together with Victor and Future Man and Howard Levy, to write and share ideas.
And also for some reason I seem to be writing some music that has nothing to do with any of these projects, but just seems to be intent on being written...
So it's a creative time.
I am looking forward to the remaining dates with Edgar and Zakir. If you haven't seen this group, let me tell you - it is like nothing else any of us have done. It's hard to know what to compare it with, due to the unusual combination of musical cultures that are represented and connected. But it has really become itself more and more as we play this music live, and get deeper into it.
We still have a set of northeastern dates, and a couple of Colorado shows, and a Wyoming adventure remaining, and that's the end til April, 2011.
I recently got to play a significant role in a soundtrack for an interesting film, and more details are soon to come.
Also a last minute booking has emerged at the Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado for Bela and Abigail Washburn on Sunday the 15th of August, in the morning.
I am greatly looking forward to the new recordings with the original Flecktone line-up this fall, and we all send out our love and respect to Jeff Coffin, who has been tearing it up with Dave Mathews Band.
We'll be playing with Jeff at the end of the year, reprising our holiday album one more time - with special guests Alash.
And I hope to see you out there somewhere soon, and that everyone's lives are going as well as possible thru these turbulent times!
Béla
