the crowd has no idea how good this is. This is a new genre of music just coming out of the womb. Five virtuosos allowing each other, encouraging each other to be unselfish. The sum is so much greater than the parts, but each part is an unselfish virtuoso. Phenomenal.
@@grendo45 The op was talking about the live crowd that was present at the filming of this show. The amount of time elapsed between then and now would be irrelevant.
It’s now December 2022 and I can still never get enough of this. These guys get better with age and what a legacy they will leave and open to the next generation of musical genius. So honored to continue to have them performing live. Almost no words necessary…… just listen and be mesmerized.
Superb, Amazing. Saw them on PBS at 1am after work. Mezmerizing, blew me away. Truly masters at their work. Never stop listening to them even if it's the same songs over and over. I wonder if the people in crowd who never heard of SIN know they're in for a treat. Can't stop smiling when i watch them play close up's. Yeah go! looks fun when yer good,right?
In a way, this reminds me of "Indian" music a la Ravi Shankar in that it requires concentrated listening to get a full appreciation of the incredible musicianship here. I defy anyone to categorize this music. It's not bluegrass, spacegrass, jazz, country or anything else. This is musician's music. I'm going to see Bela Fleck and Chick Correa later this month.
Bela is the master , Edgar is sublime and faultless, Jerry is god on a dobro, Mark O'Connor is the greatest multi-instrumentalist in the univers, and Sam Bush just thinks he's in a metal band, I love them
@@Trollificusv2The best rhythm player in the universe (Not that he can't pick either.) Fleck, O'connor, and Douglas are unarguably the top of the top, of the top, at their instruments (especially at that time.) Myer is the only outlier here, he's merely tied for the top of the top of the top of is instrument. The Newgrass Revival version of this band was awesome too ... got to see them play live.
While I understand you saying "arguably" to remain PC JamesScott, there really is no arguing that point. They were unequivocally the best acoustic group assembly. Each man near the top position or at #1 on their respective instruments. Virtuosic!!
Strength In Numbers. Yep, I've always said that same thing about them. You can make arguments for certain individual musicians to be added or subtracted, but really, these guys can play more than I can even listen, so...
I first heard this CD in 1992, and it is still one of my all time favorites. Five amazing musicians with great respect for each other, and having fun at the same time. Hard to beat it.
Far Out I've been looking for this one I was looking and listening when first came out I'm almost certain the unlabeled video tape is in one of the big boxes
The most delightful marination of genious musicians ,I have ever heard......If it were played as elevator music ,I would never leave.........Being put on hold,would be a pleasure if this music were played. ! ....it is now on my desktop for great listening while working on the computer.......BTW. almost didn't recognize Mark without his trademark hat .
What a treat. Been a huge fan of all these guys forever but didn't think I'd ever get to see this kind of footage. Thank you SO much for making this available. Dang, tears before breakfast even!
That would have been awesome but I least I saw him many times with most of them - even before he lost his singing voice. What a tragedy. He was as great a singer as a guitarist.
These boys have more talent in their fingernails than most of the "stars" today have in their whole body. Mark, Jerry, Bela and Sam are each the best at their instruments that I, for one, have ever heard. Love 'em!
Nope. Many, many years ago at the Birchmere in VA, I saw Jerry, Mark, David Grisman, JD Crowe and Tony Rice together (don't remember the bass player). Jerry and Mark are still the best dobro and fiddle players there are. Tony is still the best bluegrass guitar player there is, and his health is failing. Whether JD is a better banjo player than Bela is arguable compared to Alvin Breeden, Steve Vestral or Buck Trent doesn't matter, Noam (pickles) Pikelny is the best I've ever heard. I've been waiting 40 years to hear a bluegrass guitar player better than Tony (I'm not holding my breath). Don't get me started on how good Chris Thile is
I remember watching this on PBS in the early '90s. It was my first exposure to Bela, and I started to follow his music from there. Though I like all of these guys, and I love this performance.
If you like this music I highly recommend Bela Fleck's Tale's From The Acoustic Planet Vol.2; "The Bluegrass Sessions" CD (1999). It features Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice & Mark Schatz w/Special Guests Vassar Clements, John Hartford, Earl Scruggs and more. It's very similar to this type of pickin' and the CD is like 79min. long, they couldn't have fit more music if they tried! There's a couple of "trilogy" pieces (three themes linked) that are wonderful. I nearly wore that disc out for the first year! They played at least one of the pieces here. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! ----Gary
This is the pinnacle of the country-inflected jazz these guys were into in the late 80s. On the Strength in Numbers CD, I think each member contributed two compositions. I loved this stuff back in the day -- it's compositionally complex, the performances are virtuosic at points, but I can't really listen to a whole hour of this any more. Give me the roots.
I appreciate being able to watch this amazing, rare footage of some American master musicians jammin together in their early years. Thanks for sharing. A Sam Bush and Mark O'Connor reunion is overdue.
This music takes me to another time and place. Many of the worlds problems were solved(or created) with this music as the soundtrack... ahhh, to be able to go back there
I can't believe there was a time I didn't know these guys. God, what I missed for years! I can't believe the amount of talent on that stage. Masters, all!!!
I was at that show. I think they advertised it as the Nashville Masters. Wish I could find the video stash and the audio stash of the Lonesome Pine Specials.
Strength in Numbers was an all-star side project comprised of Sam Bush (fiddle/mandolin), Jerry Douglas (dobro), Béla Fleck (guitar/banjo), Mark O'Connor (fiddle/guitar/mandolin), and Edgar Meyer (bass). The artists were familiar with one another, having performed in the same circles for years, as well as on the same stage -- in numerous incarnations -- at the annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Strength in Numbers grew out of appearances by the group as sort of the de facto house band at the Colorado festival; Telluride Sessions, its only album, documented the easygoing newgrass fusion that Strength in Numbers would often perform there. Accomplished bluegrass musicians all, the members of Strength in Numbers were also steeped in the jazz and classical traditions, which found their way into the arrangements on Telluride Sessions. Most of the bandmembers said there would never be another Strength in Numbers album after the first. But since each musician continued to play on the others' albums and appear at festivals such as Telluride, the potential for more genius was there. ~sez FATMATHATCHY
Watched this on PBS with Dad. Got to laughing at the Bon Jovi tune for the opening song. I still followed by big hair ways with Bon Jovi, Great White, and Poison. But also followed NGR, the Flecktones, Sam Bush, John Cowan. Mark O'Conner, etc. Like the yin/yang of musical tastes. Then the Flecktones had a music video on MTV or VH1 for Sinister Minister. Yep, full circle. 24:30 for example....became a Flecktones song.
Believe it or not, my Uncle(s) knew Sam Bush in KY. He showed up at one of our reunions as both of my Uncles played music. I played Keyboards at the time of maybe 14, We all jammed for hours in a cabin on Nolin Lake! I'll never forget that moment as I did not know who he was until many years later. At the time I had a Juno 106 and I'll never forgive myself of letting it go when the digital age hit. This would have been around maybe 1985/86ish? Also, knew the Kentucky Headhunters as well.
Might as well be 5 Hendrix's up there in my honest humble opinion. Glorious contributions they all have contributed to to my life/perspective. Live music keeps the artists soul under a microscope and I love it the most for that. Wish there was a better recording of this show but what a legendary gem. Peace and music .
The last guitar lesson I gave..Was this piece from Skip,Hip and Wobble before I knew this existed ...thanks for post ...Nice to how our ideas worked or not ....at this point I realize I still love this whole process regardless of my limitations due to Huntingtlns which I've fought for 16 years ...I'm not giving up cau'se it easy ....besides, I'm back where it's warm and still friends in the Biz ...My strong point has always been words ...Did four TV performances ....Poetry and some stories for the director who I have the lesson to who would visit Pete Seeger before he passed ...We traded Woody stories
Jazz and Blue Grass have always been very similar in their intricate structure. Now take the virtuoso in each instrument in Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas, Mark O'connor and Sam Bush and Strength In Numbers resulted. I bought this CD 15 years ago it seems. Was blown away. Thanks for posting. I didn't know a live video of them existed.
Perfect timing, no drummer needed! And this is from a drummer. Very involving music and easy to groove with. Was familiar with Bela Fleck a little and just recently Jerry Douglas a la Alison Krause, but these are so great. A must listen!
Have had a recording of that show since 2001...been on "heavy rotation" pretty much since then...oh, to have been there...the original birchmere...wow...
I saw them in Santa Fe at the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater. Being a banjo player, I guess I went to see Bela, but came back talking about EDGAR! He's astounding. An all virtuoso band.
Strength In Numbers (The Telluride Sessions Live) {static in audio stops for a while, then starts again, then stops. Mostly good audio} (i) Future Man 0:00 (ii) Texas Red 5:41 [Sam Bush speaks] 10:30 (iii) Pink Flamingos 11:19 (iv) Duke and Cookie 15:20 [The sexiest bass solo I've ever seen] 17:30 (v) One Winter's Night 19:10 {static really bad until 21:04} [Bela Fleck speaks] 23:23 (vi) The Locks of Dread 24:20 (vii) [Bela and Edgar get down] 30:34 (vii) No Apologies 38:22 (viii) Slopes 43:03 ... to be continued ...
I am very pleasantly surprised to hear Mark O'Connor playing guitar. I had never seen him do that before. His guitar chops are equal to his fiddle chops.
Tanks for this! We'd make sure to watch these shows and videotape them if possible. I wish all the Lonesome Pine Specials were available as a dvd/blu ray. The Flecktones one is superb.
