Groundbreaking banjoist, composer and bandleader, Béla Fleck has reconvened the original line-up of the Grammy-winning quartet ‘Béla Fleck & The Flecktones‘, with pianist/harmonica player Howard Levy back in the fold alongside Fleck, bassist Victor Wooten, and percussionist/ Drumitarist Roy “Futureman” Wooten. While all manners of genres come into play—from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances—the result is an impossible to pigeonhole sound all their own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable. Simply put, it is The Flecktones, the music made only when these four individuals come together.
“What I needed,” replied banjo innovator Fleck when asked about the inception of Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, “were people that were kind of freaks. Each person had to be an equal or more, and that’s what made it work when I ran into these guys and we started playing together.”
In 1988, Fleck formed the group for a single performance on PBS’ Lonesome Pine Special, and began touring in 1989. “The band is a creative idealistic project, one that somehow connects with people in a profound way,” says Fleck. “Nothing about any of that has changed in over 30 years. The Flecktones are touring for the sheer love of playing and celebrating our friendship. That’s why we get together these days.”