roots of the banjo and make `` Throw Down Your Heart ? '' Bela Fleck : Well , I have loved the banjo since I first heard it when I was a little kid , and after I started to learn to play it I discovered that it came from Africa originally , and that does n't seem to be common knowledge . There are a lot of people who have forgotten over the years where the banjo comes from . I 've always wanted to go back to Africa and hear what 's going on there and find the instruments that still exist that are the roots of the banjo and play music with them . So that 's what this trip and the film and the record were all about -- going to Uganda , Tanzania , Mali and Gambia and finding musicians and filming interactions with them and recording it all . CNN : What did you learn ? Fleck : That 's a common question . Everybody wants some kind of epiphany out of a trip like this , and I got it , but it 's hard to put it into words . Except that
MANCHESTER , Tennessee -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When Bela Fleck told us he had been missing something in his life musically , he caught us off guard . Bela Fleck traveled to Africa to immerse himself in banjo-related culture . Keep in mind : Fleck is considered by many to be the premier banjo player in the world . He 's won Grammy awards . He 's collaborated with bluegrass musicians , jazz players , classical performers and any number of other talented artists . But Fleck said he wanted to make himself uncomfortable . Earlier this year , he released the documentary `` Throw Down Your Heart , '' for which he traveled to Uganda , Tanzania , Mali , and Gambia to explore the African roots of the banjo . CNN caught up with him backstage at the Bonnaroo music festival last month , where he played with African kora player Toumani Diabate , to discuss his film and experience in Africa and what prompted him to go . The following is an edited version of the interview . Watch Fleck at Bonnaroo '' CNN : What gave you the inspiration to go to Africa to trace the