Life of Guangzhou - Sparrow Quartet: Nostalgia is a Trend

When spotlights concentrated in the center of stage, a female vocalist sang with a clear and bright overture, a violinist on the right and a player on the left accompanied with a unique musical instrument banjo were revealed. If it was not for the banner stating, "May the Concert by the U.S Sparrow Quartet Be A Success", I would have thought that I was sitting in a Beijing pub.

Invited by the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, the Sparrow Quartet brought a majestic concert at the Guangzhou Sapphire Art Space on Friday night. The first famous song of the quartet consisting of the banjoist Béla Fleck, banjoist and singer Abigail Washburn, violinist Casey Driessen and cellist Ben Sollee, were named after the sparrow, a species of birds. Regrettably, Ben Sollee was absent in the concert.

Abigail Washburn (R) in the concert (Lifeofguangzhou.com)

Béla Fleck (L), Abigail Washburn (R) and Casey Driessen (Lifeofguangzhou.com)

In the performance, Abigail Washburn who is acquainted with fluent Chinese and with a silver voice was the focus. Born in Evanston, Illinois, she learnt Banjo at the age of nine and has spent substantial time in China. Varying between the dual roles of banjoist and singer, she also composes Chinese songs and writes Chinese lyrics in her performing songs.

The poster of the concert (Lifeofguangzhou.com)

Each time in the wake of Washburn's lit up, the performing atmosphere by Chinese greeting and introduction, her partner banjoist Béla Fleck added, "What did she say?", arousing animated laughers and applauses. Eight-time Grammy-winner Béla Fleck was born and raised in New York City where he learnt to play the Banjo at the age of fifteen.

Their repertoire included a hybrid of bluegrass music, acoustic, old-time and Chinese music which is Washburn's long-standing interest in. If it is said that return to the traditional folk music is a trend, then the Quartet follows closely to the fashion. They refreshed the old-time folk Chinese and American songs, like the high-pitch revised, "Qingzang Gaoyuan" (Qingzang Plateau) and, "Great Big Wall in China", evoking audiences' nostalgia.

The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments. Washburn and Béla learnt it by themselves primarily and took on further studies from others. When I asked Washburn whether it is a difficult musical instrument to learn, she responded confidently, "If you love this music, nothing is difficult for you."

(Written and photographed by Jessie Hwang)