Crossing Over with Béla Fleck

Here’s what I’m listening to right now. Also known as “what you’re listening to right now.” You’re welcome.

That’s Paganini’s Allegro vivace a movimento perpetuo. But it’s not your grandfather’s Paganini. For that, I give you Gil Shaham, “The Traditionalist.”

Here’s a slightly less traditional (but really fun) version from Wynton Marsalis.

But wait. There’s more.

That version (and the first track, as well) are from Béla Fleck’s“Perpetual Motion” album, which is a real blast. It won the 44th Annual Grammy Awards’ “Best Classical Crossover Album,” and it’s not hard to see why. (Yes, I’m a real sucker for these “Classical Wine in Bluegrass Wineskins” albums.)

NPR calls him a “Beyond Category” artist (Ellington’s term for “musicians who are simply the best at what they do), remarking that he and frequent collaborator, Edgar Meyer, have “conquered mere technical prowess long ago.” For confirmation, one need look no farther than this Tiny Desk Concert with Fleck, Meyer, and Zakir Hussain, “an exercise in wordless communication:”

Yep. We’re way, way past “mere technical prowess” here.