HAMILTON — It was an evening of cutting-edge musicianship and corny comedy Friday on the Hamilton campus of Miami University, as Bela Fleck closed out the sold-out, two-night stand of his “Bluegrass Sessions“ tour.

        Along with Mr. Fleck, the most innovative banjo player since Earl Scruggs reinvented the instrument more than half a century ago, the band included Sam Bush, who holds roughly the same revolutionary role on the mandolin, and Jerry Douglas, who also has forever changed the way people play the dobro guitar. They were joined by the merely brilliant fiddler Stuart Duncan, the phenomenally fluid guitarist Bryan Sutton and versatile bassist Mark Shatz.

        One might have expected this gathering of greats to be a dead-serious summit. Instead, their final show in the 450-seat Parrish Auditorium featured almost as much humor as music. Mr. Bush, the Kentuckian who founded the New Grass Revival around 30 years ago, served as MC, lead singer and primary prankster. He gently teased the others, particularly Mr. Shatz and his show-stealing flatfoot dancing and body percussion, while making fun of himself as the band's old man (he's in his late 40s).

        For Mr. Fleck, the tour is a return to his bluegrass beginnings, before he formed his genre-busting jam band the Flecktones.

        Born in New York, his career kicked into overdrive around 20 years ago, after he and Mr. Shatz relocated to Lexington. Within a few years, Mr. Fleck had joined New Grass Revival.

        The two hours of music reflected his musical roots and branches. There were elegantly intricate melodies riding complex chord harmonies and arrangements, such as the one-instrument-at-a-time build of the opener, “Blue Mountain Hop.” And there was the three-chord, hard-driving “Sunny Side of the Mountain,” belted out by Mr. Bush.

        Mr. Duncan contributed an Autobahn-fast old-timey tune, “Lee Highway Blues” and played a series of fiddle-and-banjo duets with Mr. Fleck that allowed Mr. Shatz to display his dancing.

        Mr. Sutton, formerly with Ricky Skaggs, soloed throughout the night, executing seemingly impossible runs with a shy grin.

        Although it was Mr. Fleck's show, Mr. Douglas, a native of Warren, Ohio, was arguably the best instrumentalist. He played “Cincinnati Rag” at blinding speed without missing a lick (Mr. Fleck muffed his solo, however). But Mr. Douglas was even better on his slow and sensual, Middle-Eastern toned “From Ankara to Izmir.”

        He also joined Mr. Bush after the Fleck-Duncan-Shatz feature. They came on mugging to the crowd, acting jealous of the huge response they others received. In revenge, they sabotaged the banjo and the bass, before getting serious on powerful versions of “Girl From the North Country" and “Crossroads Blues.”

        But as amazing as all the individual virtuosity could be, what made this night truly special was the teamwork. Along with spectacular solos, their subtle instrumental interplay and dynamics brought an intensity to the music that is all too rare, regardless of genre. The instruments were acoustic, but the musicians were electrifying.

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