BEATrio

In 2024, after a 12-show run at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village, gazillion-time Grammy-winning, globe-trotting, banjo maestro Béla Fleck, five-time Grammy-winning Mexican drummer Antonio Sánchez and internationally renowned Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda knew they had experienced something very special and worth pursuing. Hence, the debut album by an all-star instrumental trio with a uniquely compelling sound. Call it progressive bluegrass meets Afro-Caribbean soul meets South American roots; whatever it’s called, it sings (non-vocally), swings, grooves and harmonises like nothing else. ‘Kaleidoscopes’ pops off in samba-mode with the banjo and harp in tandem sounding like an oddly tuned (in a good way) grand piano, then Fleck careens the group into an improv section somewhere between an Irish reel and an Allman Brothers jam before everything returns to the Carib theme. ‘Three is Not a Crowd’ situates BEATrio in familiar jazz territory with the three men establishing the upbeat funky theme, then heading off to trade blazing solos before returning to the head. Each artist shines at various times on the album’s 11 tracks, but the mojo really works when the simpatico runs thickest (see ‘Touch and Go’) resulting in music that melds three voices into one cohesive heart and mind.