“Do you think Ryan will ever get out of the shadow of Bela Fleck?” An
inquiring mind in the crowd posed this question to me as Ryan Cavanaugh’s
other-worldly banjo attack was encircling and ensnaring the audience. A
fair question to be sure, but one difficult to answer. For starters, it
could be many generations before any banjo player will find himself truly
clear of Fleck’s influence. Bela’s contributions to the instrument, both
technically and compositionally, are unparalleled and thankfully still unfolding.
His legacy will also surely include the millions of new ears he’s opened
to the banjo’s possibilities. And yet, with all his accomplishments, there
is always new ground to be broken and new paths to traverse.
The crux of the biscuit, however, is that Cavanaugh doesn’t really sound
like Bela Fleck. I suppose he sounds like him to those select few people
who don’t follow improvised jazzgrass banjo closely, sort of in the same
way the woman at the North Mississippi Allstars show thought they sounded
like Phish. Well they don’t sound like Phish to you and me, but to someone
who doesn’t listen to loud guitar rock very often they probably did sound
a lot alike. So in that sense, Cavanaugh is busted. But for those of us who
enjoy newgrass, bluejazz or whatever they call it, there’s still a lot of
room to appreciate the subtle differences.
It was ironic in a small-world sort of way that I ran across these guys
in the first place. Cavanaugh’s previous name for the project was Spacestation
Integration, a silly yet curiosity-provoking title I stumbled across on
a website one day. Little did I know upon first click that they were about
to move to my very own town to set up their new spaceport. Out of the whole
world, they’re moving here. Weird.
Their music is some sort of mishmash hybrid gumbo of flavors and textures,
influences and futurism. Drawing from the past while soaring into tomorrow,
Cavanaugh’s banjo flies over a world full of music, absorbing and spawning
cultural landmarks like a sightseer picking up stickers for his suitcase.
Bluegrass of course has to be mentioned, since most folks don’t even know
the instrument outside of the genre. But the banjo was actually a jazz
instrument first, albeit in a rhythmic accompaniment role more than the
boisterous leading voice it transforms into in the hands of the right player.
Jazz is the next most obvious element, perhaps more philosophically than
sonically. It’s not that they play jazz standards, or have jazz instrumentation,
but the underlying groove, the spiritual exploration, and the, well, balls
of the band are jazz. The tunes spiral and wind through intricate compositions
with plenty of moments of all-out jamming.
But let me make one thing clear. Cavanaugh is the real deal. I’ve never
seen anyone play banjo like that, except for The Belafleck. (I think we should
all start writing his name like that, since he’s more machine than man anyway.)
He plays it faster than you can even think about it, even using an empty
pint glass as a slide at one point for a spin through some barroom funk and
jukejoint blues shuffle. Bobby Patterson’s funky bass and Matt Deibert’s
drum attack round out the trio. Their appearance at the Mellow Mushroom
featured their wide-ranging sound on full display, twisting and tearing
at the music until it took a shape all its own. Sound samples and more info
are available at RyanCavanaughTrio.com. The future of jazz just might be
on the banjo.
-- Paul Kerr