Picking, Strumming, Plucking and Bowing

The Sparrow Quartet, last night at Joe's Pub.

The Sparrow Quartet is Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Ben Sollee and Casey Driessen, an amazing combination of talents. Last night was the second to last show they shall play together for a long while. To celebrate, they played Appalachian folk tunes, Mandarin epics, a Beatles classic, forgotten blues songs and new classics, displaying an eclectic mix of taste that speaks volumes of the disparate interests which intersect in the Sparrow Quartet, Bela is headed to Africa to work on his next project; Abby is headed to China to teach and raise money for the children who survived the earthquakes; Ben and Casey are each carving out solo careers and other collaborations. It will be a while before they all come back together and I can't hardly wait.