Track 48: "When Joy Kills Sorrow" by Bela Fleck

I mentioned in Track 47 about trying something new and adventurous with the ole Ultimate Playlist blog--doing "theme" portions of tracks. After a handful of 'repeat artists' tracks, musicians making there 2nd appearance on the Playlist, the next few tracks will be bluegrass-tinged instrumentals. And though I love the tight vocal harmonies of bluegrass music, some of my favorite songs of the genre are instrumentals. There's just something perfect about what a collection of acoustic instruments can produce...so I hope you enjoy the next few entries of instrumental songs as much as I do.

I touched on "Paul Simon's Concert in the Park" album as being of my go-to albums when spring rolls around, but it's also tough to beat some bluegrass music on a gorgeous, sunny spring day.

Banjo maestro Bela Fleck has made a number of appearances on the Playlist already. He first popped in the incredible "b Song" for Track 6 with bassist Edgar Meyer, again with his amazing band The Flecktones for Track 26 "A New South Africa", and he's also part of Abigail Washburn's Sparrow Quartet on the gorgeous Track 41 "Fall on My Knees".

Maybe I am a bit Fleck-obsessed, but the man just has so much awesome music and is definitely one of my favorite musicians on the planet. And one of my favorite albums of his (of which there are several) is "The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from The Acoustic Planet Volume 2." Obviously from the title, Fleck has done a few "Acoustic Planet" albums (the first is him playing with a number of different jazz musicians, and the most recent 3rd edition "Throw Down Your Heart" finds Fleck taking the banjo on a journey through Africa, playing a lot of traditional African music--a really great album).

But "The Bluegrass Sessions" never fails to get some play when spring rolls around. And it doesn't hurt that Fleck has some of the greatest bluegrass musicians on Earth playing with him on this album--Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Earl Scrugs, Tony Rice and the late, great Vassar Clement just to name a few. There's some fantastic songs on this album, some amazing picking, and it's a must-have record for anyone who digs the bluegrass.

The melody in "When Joy Kills Sorrow" is just so charming, infectious and pretty--a perfect companion to any sunny Sunday afternoon. I just love how each musician on the track sort of 'leads' a section, trading off the melody. Such a great song.



And as a Sunday bonus, I decided to add "The Over Grown Waltz" to Track 48 and give you a Bela Fleck double-shot, so you now have two reasons to own "The Bluegrass Sessions." I used the word 'lovely' to describe The Allman Brothers song "Little Martha," and I think "The Over Grown Waltz" is also quite deserving of the adjective. Such a beautiful melody, perfect for a sunny Sunday. Lovely indeed.



--Music is good