Up the creek without a banjo: Breit rehearsing in Melbourne, Australia with his Flatiron mandolin.   "The banjo is its own instrument," says Breit. "Nothing sounds like it but it."

"I was driving around Nashville one afternoon, with my banjo on the back seat of my car. I stopped by a corner store to run in and buy a Coke. When I got back to my car, just a few minutes later, I discovered that someone had broken into my car — and there were two banjos in my car!"

That's my favorite banjo joke, though there are many jokes that poke fun at the instrument. Why is it the object of so much humor and scorn? And what sort of musician would put aside his main ax, the guitar, to make a whole CD of modern, jazzy banjo music?

That's just what Canadian guitarist Kevin Breit recently did. The multi-instrumentalist has played guitar with Cassandra Wilson, k.d. lang, Norah Jones, and Holly Cole, as well as leading his own trio, Folkalarm. Breit's latest CD, Skedaddle (on his own label, Poverty Playlist) is his fourth disc with Folkalarm. This recording features several instruments from the banjo family, and Breit's quirky compositions take these banjo bretheren into musical zones where they've never been before.

* * * * *

AL: What inspired you to make a banjo record?
KB: I love the banjo. There's something about its sound that has always made me happy. The 5-string banjo is what we used to call a "hillybilly clavinet." So funky. I grew up in Canada, in northern Ontario — sometimes described as "rainbow country." Many bluegrass musicians have come from this region and although I wouldn't describe myself as a bluegrass musician, I sure developed an appreciation for the music's raw beauty.

AL: So you've been playing the banjo since you were a kid?
KB: I started when I was in my early teens, first learning the Scruggs technique. A metronome and a room away from family members was key in learning and surviving. Not every one loves the banjo.

AL: Was all of the Skedaddle music written on banjo, or was it written on other instruments and then transferred over to banjo?
KB: I wrote all the music for Skedaddle on various banjos.

AL: What instruments did you use on Skedaddle?
KB: A Gibson tenor banjo, a Gibson 5-string RB-250 Mastertone, another Gibson 5-string RB-250 Mastertone tuned down an octave (strung with mandocello strings), a Hohner 6-string banjo, a Vega Little Wonder banjolin, a Liberty 8-string banjola, a 12-string Framus banjo, and a custom-made banjocello. I used traditional tunings on these, for the most part. I played with fingerpicks on the 5-string stuff, and used flatpicks and fingers on the rest.

AL: You've given all of your songs on Skedaddle interesting titles, though most are conventionally song-titlish. Two of your songs, though, are named after real-life people. That's intriguing. Can you explain?
KB: I had a dream about going to the wedding of Mr. Levon Helm and Ms. Audrey Hepburn. The wedding was in a pawnshop — your stereotypical shop, with old hats, records, electronics, army medals, cameras, jewelry, and of course, banjos. Ms. Audrey looked as radiant as she did in Roman Holiday and Mr. Levon looked like he did in The Last Waltz, except in my dream he was wearing the type of suit worn by distinguished southern gents. That dream was so powerful that at least four of the titles came from it. Why Ms. Audrey and Mr. Levon? They were made for each other, I think — two members of royalty.

AL: Are you somewhat of a banjo collector?
KB: It took me three years to find my Vega Little Wonder banjolin. I tried hundreds but finally, on tour in Lexington, Kentucky, I stumbled upon it. I knew this the instrument I was looking for, but I also knew I would have to suffer through every banjo joke in the book for the rest of our tour.

AL: What's your favorite banjo joke?
KB: What do you call a banjo player with a beeper? An optimist.

* * * * *

To hear Kevin Breit's "Ms. Audrey Hepburn" (from Skedaddle) click here.

To jump to the official Web site of Breit's label, Poverty Playlist, click here.