Béla Fleck is not, to put it mildly, a musician who spends much time dwelling on his past—so when word got out that the Grammy-hoarding banjo player’s trailblazing combo, the Flecktones, would be reforming its original lineup for their just-released 14th album, Rocket Science, the news was more surprising than your average reunion.
Fans who worried that the new music would be a nostalgia trip can rest easy, however. With pianist and harmonica player Howard Levy back in the fold for the first time in 20 years, the band (which also includes longtime rhythm section Victor Wooten on bass and Roy “Future Man” Wooten on the one-of-a-kind drumitar) uses its familiar chemistry as the springboard for fresh excursions into that hard-to-find spot where bluegrass, jazz, and funk meet. Flecktones territory, in other words—and while Rocket Science is identifiably Flecktones, this isn’t the sound of a band resting on its laurels. Rather than picking up where they left off, this lineup has simply caught itself at a more distant point on the arc of its flight.
Paste caught a minute with Fleck—between rehearsals for the band’s joint tour with Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers—to discuss the new album, some of his many upcoming projects, and how the new/old Flecktones operate.
Paste: You always have so many different projects going on that it’s difficult to keep track of what you’re doing. How do you know when it’s time for a Flecktones record?
Bela Fleck: Our approach has certainly evolved over the years. For a long time we were full-time, all the time. In 2005, we took our first year off from the band, after 15 years of intense touring. That year led to a lot of personal growth for everyone, and I think at that point, we realized it was best for us all to have extended times off periodically.
The longest one is now coming to an end. Our last album of original music was released in 2006, and it’s been three years since we’ve done a full-on tour. In those three years off we only did holiday tours, for three weeks a year in December. Everyone has been stretching and growing separately, but after all this time, it really felt like time to regroup.
Paste: Can you describe, in general terms, the way Flecktones arrangements are built? For instance, on the new album, “Prickly Pear” is a song you wrote, but it’s also definitely a showcase for Howard Levy’s harmonica. Was that something that evolved during rehearsals, or did you hear it as you were writing it?
Fleck: I just knew that I had something catchy, fun and relatively simple. I knew that the group would have lots of room to put their spin on it. Howard is one of the best blues players in the world, and once he put that harp through my Fender Vibrolux amp, the song became itself! I’m glad we found something that showcases that side of his playing this time around, because it’s truly ferocious.
Paste: This album was a homecoming for the band, with Levy returning to the fold after 20 years. Was it at all daunting to try and add to the original lineup’s legacy?
Fleck: So much time had gone by, and we all had so many ideas to try. We definitely pushed hard to come up with our best possible writing and playing. I don’t think anyone felt any fear that it wouldn’t stack up. We had done a trial two-week tour the year before in Europe, just to see how it felt to play together again with Howard, and it was pretty impressive.
There’s a lot of musicianship and focus brought to bear when these four guys sit down in a room to record together.
Paste: In the EPK for the new record, you say, “We had to do this in a different way—much, much faster, and with a real different process.” Can you expand on that statement? How was the process different?
Fleck: In the old days we got to develop the music in front of an audience, because we were constantly on tour. When we finally got into the studio, we really would have our arrangements down. This time we had to rehearse the music up from scratch, and then go record it. We gave ourselves two two-week periods to do this, but we ended up doing it in about 20 days. At that point, we knew we had the recording in the can, and recording more would just complicate the decision-making process.
So in a way, this was more like a conventional session, where you’re invited to play on someone’s record, and you do it all live and fairly quick. The pre-production part put us ahead of the curve, and the 23 years that Victor, Future Man and myself have played together meant there was some mind-reading going on. Playing with Howard was very comfortable as well, we all knew what the songs needed and what our roles were, and how to balance the music. Although we hadn’t been playing with Howard all that time, there still was a cumulative effect from playing together so intensely years ago, and having that in our programing, it came back very quickly.
Paste: How do you balance the obvious joy of working in established frameworks—such as the Flecktones or, say, with Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain—with the need to explore new horizons? It seems like a really tricky balancing act. Is it a struggle for you?
Fleck: It can be intense when the tours are back to back. For instance, I just got home from playing a concerto with Edgar and Zakir and the Colorado Symphony at midnight last night. Today the Flecktones rehearsals begin, and we’ll have two days to relearn the music before the tour begins. In the middle of the touring with Edgar and Zakir, I was finishing touches on the new banjo concerto I’m composing. I had an orchestra run-through for it, and that meant I had to learn the whole piece, even though the concert won’t take place until September—and it’s a very challenging piece. Ricocheting between these high-intensity situations isn’t easy, but it is very rewarding. It freaks me out more now than it used to!
Paste: You maintain a hectic schedule that finds you performing on the road or in the studio a great deal of the time. Between all that, how important is it for you to find time to practice? How much time do you spend honing and developing the instrumental side of your craft?
Fleck: I tend to enjoy composing more than practicing, so when I pick up the banjo I’m looking for nooks and crannies where a new piece might lie. But when I have to practice hard for something, I do get into it. I spent two month this year composing. During that period, I really didn’t play the banjo very much, so I had to practice hard to get my playing back together. Those breaks can be very beneficial, because when I come back I tend to drop things from my playing that I don’t like. I come back fresh and try to be a newer version of myself.
Preparing for a concerto is the most work. Preparing to play with the band, I can only do so much prep—I have to actually be with the group to see what needs to happen in my playing.
Paste: Finally, can you talk about what fans can expect to see during the Flecktones’ tour with Bruce Hornsby—and share a few details about upcoming projects such as your concerto?
Fleck: This whole summer is really going to be fun. We’re playing a bunch of shows with Bruce, who’s a longtime friend, yet we’ve never done a tour together. We’re setting it up so the bands can be on stage simultaneously, so any sitting in can be encouraged. I predict that it will be a joy.
We’re also doing just a few of the Acoustic Planet shows—it’ll be the Flecktones with two guest bands. One is the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who are an amazing black string band, and the other is Abigail Washburn and the Village. Abby is a great singer songwriter/banjo player with a great band. She’s also my wife. Is this nepotism? When you hear her, you’ll know it isn’t!
The banjo concerto is something I’ve wanted to do for many years. Finding a role for the banjo in the classical world has been a long-term goal for me. It’s one of those areas that hasn’t been deeply explored, so it does have a lot of untapped potential.
I’ve had the chance to co-write an orchestra piece with Edgar Meyer, and one with Edgar and Zakir Hussain. Working with these guys gave me the tools to do it for myself. Collaborating is fun, but occasionally I need to prove to myself that I can generate something completely on my own. This piece served that purpose as well.
I realized that I had never written a piece for musicians from the first note to the last. Normally I write a sketch, and the musicians I play with know what to do, although I certainly direct a bit. That’s because normally I’m working with improvising musicians who look at a chord chart, learn the melodies and tough bits, and then take off for the stratosphere. Classical musicians can play anything I dream up, but it has to be written on the page—it’s very different. I’m very excited about premiering the piece and taking it on tour after the Flecktones wrap up in April. I’ll be refining it and memorizing it on the bus during this summer of touring with the Flecktones, to be ready for the September premiere.