RIYL: Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, Phish, Chick Corea
6 minute songs? Check
Roving harmonica solos? Check
Primus-style slap bass? You got it.
With over 30 years of recording in various incarnations, Bela Fleck defines prolific. He’s released a total of 12 solo albums since his first in 1979 and 14 with his long-standing band The Flecktones. Formed in 1988, the group released their first EP in 1992 and since then Fleck has become one of the most critically acclaimed banjo players in the world, not to mention a darling of the Grammys.
For their latest outing, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones aim skyward with Rocket Science, a jazzy amalgam of bluegrass and blues. As the title suggests, these tunes are at times intricate and complex and at others they soars to levitra 20 mg with overnight delivery great wondrous heights.
Is it for everyone? No. But like most jazz, the patient listener is rewarded when somewhere around minute 3 of a standout like “Falling Forward” you start to lose all sense of time and realize you’ve just been taken to a higher level of musicianship. The track is anchored by a standard jazz piano chord progression that allows for inspiring flights of fancy and more than any other tracks it feels like an organic melding of jazz and bluegrass.
At less than 3 minutes, “Joyful Spring” effectively uses dreamy piano rolls and concise banjo picking to evoke a quiet stroll through Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood with just enough coy sarcasm to remind you of all the hand puppets lurking in the shadows.
Surprisingly the album turns darker for tracks 8, 9 and 10. Maybe Phillip Glass decided to visit for the weekend. There’s an ominous swampy feel to “Earthling Parade” and spooky drum solos on “The Secret Drawer”. Exotic chord progressions likewise add drama to the Persian flavored “Sweet Pomegranates”.
“Falani” brings the album to a stellar close. It’s sly, winsome, and innovative. You’re swimming in a muddy southern river, crocodiles at every turn. Keyboardist and harmonica player Howard Levy, an original member of the Flecktones, has returned for the first time since 1992 and with this engaging batch of songs the band proves they are still as fresh as when they first joined hands all those years ago.
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