Rhapsody in blue

"Béla Fleck is arguably the greatest musician ever to play the banjo, and with this 2024 release, he accomplished an unprecedented feat; he topped both bluegrass and crossover classical charts in the U.S. The multiple chart placements are appropriate, for what one finds on the album is not simply a banjo arrangement of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, as one might suppose from the graphics, but multiple versions of that great work ... Bonuses are present in the form of two short pieces, Rialto Ripples, which, as Fleck notes, was written for the piano but could just as easily have been a banjo work, and the recently rediscovered Unidentified Piece for Banjo, a genuine rarity. Recommended for bluegrass lovers, Gershwin lovers, and, for that matter, listeners who are new to both".

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"Banjo maestro Béla Fleck's Rhapsody in Blue celebrates the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Gershwin's `jazz concert' ... Fleck's five-track tribute begins with 'Rhapsody in Blue(grass)', which features the piano replaced by a banjo and members of Fleck's My Bluegrass Heart band (...) sitting in for the orchestra. The result is a consummately crafted, thoroughly swinging variation on Gershwin's composition. Similarly, 'Rhapsody in Blue(s)', which features Fleck with bosom bandmates Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Victor Wooten, turns what in lesser hands could easily have been a trifling romp into a legit fresh take on Gershwin's century-old masterwork".