Throw Down Your Heart at Starz

"I just want to blend in," claims banjoist Béla Fleck early in Throw Down Your Heart, a documentary about his musical journey to Africa (where the banjo originated). A moment later, after glancing at the native performers around him, he admits, "I'm not going to blend in." Yet he often...

By Michael Roberts

June 18, 2009

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"I just want to blend in," claims banjoist Béla Fleck early in Throw Down Your Heart, a documentary about his musical journey to Africa (where the banjo originated). A moment later, after glancing at the native performers around him, he admits, "I'm not going to blend in." Yet he often does, at least from a sonic standpoint — a tribute to his approach that's as welcome as it is unexpected. Over the years, we've seen a number of famous Caucasian artists make a big deal of dipping their toe into other cultures, but the emotional remove that's marked well-meaning experiments by the likes of Paul Simon caused the results to feel somewhat imperialistic at times, as if these far-flung forms existed mainly to spruce up Western pop songs. In contrast, Fleck comes across as an earnest student trying to learn all he can from the masters of styles he admires but doesn't understand as well as he'd like. His emotion and joy are infectious, and so are the beautiful noises he conjures up alongside his African peers.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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