Musical Mutants

So for my wife's birthday I decided to let her choose the next disc off the wall. Following the rules set forth by the blog, I made her close her eyes, reach up to the wall of maddening plastic and select the disc we would both listen to on our journey to her birthday celebration weekend. Needless to say she was excited just as much as I was. What excited me even more was the album she put her pretty finger on; Live Art from the extremely talented Bela Fleck & the Flecktones.

Now I mentioned Bela Fleck briefly during the first post for Dave Matthews, but I did not divulge my true passion for what this banjo virtuoso brings to the musical table. Bela in my mind is the Jimi Hendrix of the banjo. He has revolutionized its place in not only the musical community, but also the world in general. Sure there are plenty of fantastic banjo players out there and many of them I am very fond of, but Bela in my book takes the cake. Whether it's a simple bluegrass diddy, or a heartfelt Mozart performance, this guy's got it all. He can plug up his 5 string and make it sound like any instrument in the world. Who would have thought to make a banjo sound like a piano, a harmonica, or a set of steel drums?! I'll tell you who. Bela Fleck.

On top of all of this, Mr. Fleck is also a multiple Grammy winner, a fan of comic books, a world music conquerer, and super nice guy. I had the chance to meet Bela in 2004 after a Flecktones show and I could nothing more than thank him for the work that he does. Of course I did so by referring to him as "Bruce" seeing that we was wearing the old school black Batman t-shirt with the bright yellow logo.

So what does a guy that has revolutionized the banjo do? Well, surround yourself with other amazing musicians that have also revolutionized their instruments of course. More on that later.

I first discovered Bela Fleck & the Flecktones on a whim in 1996. Now when I say whim I mean channel surfing. I was living in Troy, AL of all places and attending a community college to stock up on core classes after my horrific freshman semester at the U of A. One day my roommate at the time and I were lounging watching the boob tube and flipping through the networks like any normal college guys do when something caught my ear. I made my buddy jump back to BET where I heard the sounds of fusion jazz. Me being a jazz buff at this point was blown away with what I saw that I immediately found a half used VHS tape, popped it in the VCR, and hit record. Funny, it's been a while since I've spoken the words VHS and VCR let alone type them. Anyway. What I partially recorded was a jazz show hosted by Lou Rawls (I forgot the name of the show). This particular episode featured the baddest bass player I had heard up to that point, some funky guy dressed like Jimi Hendrix meets Sgt. Peppers playing drums on a machine shaped like a guitar, and a young banjo player making sounds I have never heard before. I was mesmerized.

As the program went along each tune took me to a new place in the world of jazz, I didn't want to leave, and I wanted more. I had to wait until the commercial break before Lou Rawls told me who these guys were and had to wait until the end of the program before I got their story.

Band leader Bela Fleck began his career as a banjo child prodigy from what I gathered and worked his way through the bluegrass scene at an early age playing with all of the greats. In the early nineties he began exploring jazz and finding a new home for his 5 string banjo, but needed help to make this jazz fusion outfit work. He decided to take auditions and managed to find bass guitar god Victor Wooten through some networking. Lou Rawls got the full story of how Bela interviewed Victor over the telephone, heard his amazing talent and hired him on the spot. Now I'm not sure if they were both living in Nashville at the time, but it just made sense. During their phone chat, Victor mentioned that his brother was working on getting a patent on a new drum machine that you hold like a guitar (cymbals with your left hand and drums with your right) that he called the 'drumitar'. Obviously Bela took the bait and collected the other Wooten brother known as Futureman to round out his team of players.

After the BET program ended I was hooked. I watched my recorded show a million times and found my favorite tune from the set "Vix 9". Of course living in Troy did not suffice my CD addiction needs at that point due to the lack of good record stores in the area. I scoured nearby stores in nearby cities on the hunt for my first Flecktones record. Now I can't remember exactly where I found it, but the album I bought of theirs was Three Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest , which lucky for me contained my favorite "Vix 9". It wasn't until later that the Live Art double disc found its way to me, but it was welcomed with eager and open arms when it did.

If I could recommend a Flecktones album to start with, Live Art would be it. If you are not familiar with this band, and I highly suggest that you are, then buy this album. This is a collection of live material recorded from '92-'96 and it is a great introduction into the world that is the Flecktones. I can't say much more at this point other than the music speaks for itself. There will be plenty more Flecktones reviews as I go along on this journey and I have many memories of what this band means to me. This album for one takes me back to college and continues to be apart of the soundtrack of my life.

Disc 1

"Intro"

"New South Africa"- just an amazing song

"Stomping Grounds"- the wife said this sounds like Kermit the Frog swamp music

"Lochs of Dread"- ever wonder what a Scottish ditty and a reggae tune would sound like mashed up?

"Bigfoot"

"Far East Medley"

"Flying Saucer Dudes"

"UFO Tofu"

"Interlude - Libation, The Water Ritual"

"Vix 9"- again, my first favorite

"The Message"

"Improv/Amazing Grace"- whenever I see/hear Victor play "Amazing Grace" on the solo bass, I tear up

"Shubbee's Doobie"

"Oh! Darling"

"Blu-bop"

"Sunset Road"- you should also find the version with lyrics

"More Luv"

"Presto" from Sonata #1 in G minor for unaccompanied violin (Johann Sebastian Bach)

Now this isn't "Presto", but his classical stylings are incredible:

"The Ballad of Jed Clampett"

"Cheeseballs in Cowtown"

"Sinister Minister"- wow

"Flight of the Cosmic Hippo"

I really could go on for days about these guys, but I'll be back.

"And my electronic gear, I haven't even scratched the surface of what's available on that instrument - it's ridiculous!" -- Bela Fleck

What's in a name?

Many groups play cover tunes all of the time and some complete entire albums in a cover tune format. The album from this selection however takes it to the next level.

Here we have 1996's If Four Was One from the power group T.J. Kirk.

The idea of three guitarists and a drummer forming a power group may seem a little odd; especially when it comes to jazz. However, when anyone joins forces with the 8 string virtuoso Charlie Hunter, anything is possible and the outcome will almost always come remarkable.

Charlie in my mind is a genius. Any guy that can hold down a solid bass line and play sick electric jazz licks at the same time on one instrument is ok in my book. If you have not discovered Hunter's style, you must. Just watching him play an 8 string guitar is cool enough. Thumping the top strings for the bass line and picking the others for hot jazz licks amazes me every time.

When many first hear of T.J. Kirk they may think the group's name is a play on words by combining two popular roles that William Shatner has played; T.J. Hooker & Captain James T. Kirk. Maybe the band wanted you to think that, but in reality the group covers the musical styles of Thelonius Monk, James Brown, & Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

I became familiar with this outfit simply by being a fan of Charlie Hunter. This side project of his really caught my ear because I not only a huge jazz fan but also an admirer of the musicians for which they cover. I burned this disc from my buddy T.J., ironically, because he picked up this disc before I did. Rats. Anyway, this album's funky grooves takes me back to those college days and the disc battles he and I used to have.

Now I won't got through each track this time around but will supply a few clips of Charlie doing his thing. Unfortunately there aren't too many good videos of T.J. Kirk surfacing around because sadly the group disbanded after a few records.

We'll see more of Charlie down the road but for now, here's a little treat:

I throughly enjoy this disc however I feel I must transfer it over to iTunes as I don't have the official copy. That just makes sense right?

Anyone playing with you is going to change where your direction is.
Charlie Hunter