Africa Jams

Banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck is a musical rarity: a humble, but gifted phenom who makes his craft look easy without making a big deal of it. And that’s never been more evident than in Throw Down Your Heart, the 2008 documentary tracking Fleck’s voyage through Africa, discovering kindred spirits while...

By Susan Froyd

February 4, 2010

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Banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck is a musical rarity: a humble, but gifted phenom who makes his craft look easy without making a big deal of it. And that’s never been more evident than in Throw Down Your Heart, the 2008 documentary tracking Fleck’s voyage through Africa, discovering kindred spirits while hunting down the origins of his instrument. It’s a quietly amazing film — especially if you love world music — that introduces viewers to some of Africa’s cultural treasures, who play alone and jam with Fleck on camera.

Some of those unique master musicians — Malians Bassekouye Kouyate and Ngoni Ba, and Tanzanians Anania Ngoliga and John Kitime — will collaborate with Fleck on stage when he brings his Africa Project tour to the Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street in Boulder, tonight at 7:30 p.m. For information and tickets, $35, visit www.bouldertheater.com or call 303-786-7030.
Mon., Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m., 2010

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Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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