Chick Corea & Bela Fleck enchanted patrons at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in Morristown, New Jersey on September 25, 2015. Chick Corea is a renowned jazz composer and pianist with numerous awards to his credit including 22 Grammys. Bela Fleck has redefined the banjo with his approach that is all over the musical map. Bela has 14 Grammys among his many accolades.
In 2006 it was an unusual idea to pair a banjo with the piano but Bela Fleck and Chick Corea are no ordinary players. Their aptly titled The Enchantment charmed listeners. It led to a multi-year worldwide tour and a double album - Two. In celebration of the live record's release (September 2015) the two are back on the road casting their magical spells once again.
"Every night will have its own personality, and follow the energy of the room, the space and the audience..., " states Bela explaining what fans can expect of their performances. The music on Friday night was experimental yet expressive. The space at the MPAC had good sight lines and acoustics. Their set-up was sparse with a few amps along with a Yamaha grand piano that took up part of the stage.
"Thanks for that, welcome to Morristown," said Chick after the pair received a standing ovation as they came out. Corea asked Fleck "what would you like to do" Bela responded "a song". Such subtle humor was woven into a show full of serious music. The first piece that they performed was a delicate yet playful blend of banjo and piano parts. During the next instrumental they seemed to be in a friendly note for note competition as a demonstration of their mesmerizing chemistry.
Chick and Bela played songs from both of their catalogues. "Waltz For Abby" was written by Fleck for his wife Abigail Washburn who also plays the banjo. The pair currently reside in Nashville - which some considered to be the birth place of bluegrass or at least its launch into the mainstream. Nashville is the ideal place for banjo players. "Waltz For Abby" started off slow yet soon developed a spring in its steps. As with the Waltz all of their compositions were packed with changes and multi-part melodies.
As they started the second set, Corea jested that fans had "stayed for more punishment" before they presented animated arrangements of songs they wished they had written including "Bugle Call Rag". Bela shared that he was in San Francisco when his wife delivered their son "Juno" who had arrived three weeks early. When Fleck was on a layover in Dallas at dawn in route to Music City he figured that the least he could do was come up with a tune since he missed the birth. The result was a warm, winsome welcoming for a child.
Chick reminisced about his days with Return To Forever as part of their re-worked presentation of the classic "Song to the Pharaoh Kings". Their MPAC encore featured more enchanting exchanges from the talented two. The MPAC located in the heart of historic Morristown continues to host a wide array of artists such as Chick and Bela. Upcoming events at this recently renovated theater include Tears For Fears, Brad Zimmerman, Melissa Etheridge, Festival of Books, Joel McHale, Engelbert Humperdinck and Art Garfunkel.
Photo courtesy of C. Taylor Crothers (c) 2015 Chick Corea Productions
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
