Well put nibbler,
After seeing three masters on Saturday (Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White) it was equally impressive seeing these three masters last night.
Bela is always a joy to see. His virtuosity has never shone through as much at a live performance I have been at as with this one. The man is amazing. To think that the banjo was relegated to such a small group of musical styles before he blew the doors wide open. I also like the fact that he was using the same banjo all night (and not using any "modern" funkified/electrified banjos)
Zakir Hussain was shrouded with good vibes. The ever present smiley-grin while he brought the tabla to life. Seriously, in one of his extended solos he made those little drums talk, sing, and emulate so many different sounds. Never heard anything like it. I can't wait to see him perform again sometime.
Edgar Meyer. WOW! After being blown away by Stanley Clarke, I get floored by Edgar Meyer. Holy shit this man is talented. Such a mellow and reserved presence on stage with some wonderful deadpan humour exchanged with Bela and Zakir. He plays not only with technical prowess but with unbelievable emotion. Just like Zakir, he was able to make his bass do just about everything. His solo in the second half had my jaw on the floor.
What an absolute treat. So I went from the second last row at the top one night, down to the fourth row last night. The sound was EQUAL IN BOTH SPOTS. This hall is absolutely marvellous. Just a couple of more weeks until Ravi SHankar