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Béla Fleck: Left of Cool

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Released: 1998.06.09
Time:
 76:30
Category: Progressive Jazz
Producer(s): Béla Fleck
Rating: *********. (9/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.flecktones.com
Appears with: Victor Wooten
Purchase date: 2001.10.10
Price in €: 14,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Throwdown at the Hoedown (B.Fleck) - 5:09
[2] Communication (B.Fleck/R.Wooten) - 4:16
[3] Big Country (B.Fleck) - 5:31
[4] Sojourn of Arjuna (B.Fleck) - 5:27
[5] Let Me Be the One (B.Fleck) - 4:38
[6] Trane to Conamarra (B.Fleck) - 6:48
[7] Almost 12 (B.Fleck) - 3:15
[8] Step Quiet (B.Fleck) - 4:02
[9] Oddity (B.Fleck) - 5:32
[10] Sleeping Dogs Lie (B.Fleck) - 4:02
[11] Trouble and Strife (B.Fleck) - 5:12
[12] Slow Walker (B.Fleck) - 5:23
[13] Shanti (B.Fleck) - 5:12
[14] The Big Blink (B.Fleck) - 7:57
[15] Prelude to Silence (B.Fleck) - 3:55

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


BÉLA FLECK - Synthesizer, Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Keyboards, Theremin, Vocals, Engineer, Art Direction, Design, Mixing
VICTOR LEMONTE WOOTEN - Bass, Fiddle, Cello
ROY "Future Man" WOOTEN - Percussion, Vocals, Sampling, Synthaxe
JEFF COFFIN - Clarinet, Flute, Bass Clarinet, Baritone, Soprano & Tenor Saxophone

AMY GRANT - Vocals on [4]
DAVE MATTHEWS - Vocals [11]

ROGER NICHOLS - Engineer, Mixing
RICHARD BATTAGLIA - Engineer, Mixing
TRACY HACKNEY - Assistant Engineer
DENNY PURCELL - Mastering
JEFF FRAZIER - Photography
GARRETT RITTENBERRY - Art Direction, Design

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1998 CD Warner Brothers 46896
1998 CS Warner Brothers 46896

"Almost 12" won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. "Big Country" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.



Do yourself a favor and forget about the question, "What is this music?" Your enjoyment of this recording will only further increase upon realizing that these freak-o's don't necessarily know quite what it is that they're playing, either. All the better-the lack of self-consciousness is what makes this concoction feel natural. For the record, however, the identifiable ingredients include funk, pop, folk, jazz and, of course, Fleck's masterful, multi-colored banjo-playing. Tight arrangements meet tastefully with whim throughout. LEFT OF COOL opens with the frantic funk-out entitled, "Throwdown At The Hoedown," an instrumental replete with foreboding melodies and wildly fast bursts of banjo- and bass-playing (indeed, Van Halen-style fretboard tapping has arrived on the banjo). Other tunes, such as the smooth-sailing "Step Quiet," offer vocal affirmations pleasing to the weary ear. A playful sense of exchange often leaps up between bass-samurai Wooten and the various horns assembled, weaving in and out of melodic conversations and inspired octave passages with glee. And, present as always, is Future Man playing his infamous synthaxe drumitar-reason enough to have a go at this odd little sonic gathering.

Bela Hears a Who
by Bob Makin



Friends are a beautiful thing.

Six years ago, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones joined the first HORDE tour and turned on a whole bunch of jam band fans onto their jazzy funkgrass. The past couple of years, the Flecktones have opened for and jammed with Dave Matthews Band, gaining their largest audience in the process. Seemingly too slick at times for the bluegrass community - which Fleck has been a part of for 17 years as a member of New Grass Revival, Spectrum and Strength in Numbers in addition to the Flecktones - and too far out for commercial radio and video play, the brilliant banjo player and his inventive cohorts - Victor Wooten, continually voted the best jazz bassist by several critic and fan polls; his "drumitar"-playing brother Roy "Future Man" Wooten, who slings a combination drum machine and synthaxe that he customized, and relatively new saxophonist Jeff Coffin - have become as a much a part of the jam scene as they are the contemporary jazz world. Playboy readers may have voted them best jazz band this year, but its mainly the yopps of jam fans that greet the Nashville-based Flecktones these days. Matthews also has had something to do with that in the studio. He provided guest vocals on the Flecktones' latest disc, "Left of Cool," a followup to the Grammy-winning 1996 outing "Live Art." Fleck returned the favor by picking on DMB's "Before These Crowded Streets."

"Left of Cool," Fleck's first foray into lyric writing and Future Man's vocal debut, describes the aforementioned perception of the band. I spoke with Fleck about how he doesn't mind that space as long as he has the company and respect of other musicians, the uncharted music that they create together and the occasional yopp of a booty-shaking crowd.

After 17 years in the bluegrass community, you're finally getting mainstream attention. Comment on how the Grammy for 'Live Art' and the tours with Dave Matthews Band added to that.

I don't think the Grammy helped. It was a nice thing, but I didn't see any professional change. We got a 10th more respect. After being nominated so many times, it was like, 'Wow, now we won one.' But it didn't seem as big a deal to everybody as it was to my mom, for instance. But it was cool. We really felt complimented by our peers in the music industry. Playing with Dave Matthews Band has been much bigger for us. We've seen a sizable growth in the size of our audiences. We're finding a lot of young people coming out to see the Flecktones.

That's one of the best things to happen to us in a long time. It was one thing to play banjo on their record. That was a real treat. I just thrive on playing banjo in an unusual situation, but to be in a full out, kicking rock band - not that they're your typical rock band - but it was a rock 'n' roll fantasy of mine to be on the stage with them at Giants Stadium in front of 70,000 people.

When Dave came here - we did the record at my house - and we just felt like we were really going to be friends, not just a show business friendship. It's more than that. The two bands really bond together and enjoy being together. It's been really fun to play with other bands over the last 10 years. We haven't done that many co-bills. It's mostly our own show. But with Alison Krauss and Union Station, David Grisman, Leftover Salmon, String Cheese Incident, it's nice to hang out with another band all day instead of being in your own world. Alison's band everyone is friends with. We might even have a musical collaboration.

Matthews, as well as Amy Grant, sing on 'Left of Cool.' This is the first Flecktones record for which you've written lyrics. Did you have a lyrical burst of energy?

I wrote a good bit of them a couple of summers ago when we were on an off period. They're just about stuff that was going on emotionally at that time. For some reason, I was in a real reflective space, so I started writing songs. They just came pouring out. They weren't all very good, but they had some good ideas in them. I didn't know what to do with them. I thought I'd start another group to explore that side of things. But as the year went on, Future Man decided he wanted to sing more. He had been scatting with the saxophone. So we decided he'd sing a couple of songs, and they sounded really good.

In the five years since your last studio album, does it seem like young people's taste in music has improved, more of them having been turned onto such jazz-oriented acts as the Flecktones and Medeski, Martin and Wood, as well as this whole swing thing?

I think the kids are OK. I don't think what they're exposed to is OK, but they have a way of finding out cool stuff that's not on radio and TV. There's a real thirst in the 'younger generation.' They're interested in deeper music than TV and radio has to offer. You have to go to shows to see it. Some bands, like Dave Matthews Band and Phish, tap into great music from years before them. Great rock, R&B, folk, bluegrass and jazz all come out in their music. They do it with integrity.

We all make music that's special to the people who know about it. You know about it, but not everyone else knows about it. As long as that's the case, it's OK. I have room in my heart to love everybody in pop music and radio who doesn't play us. If we couldn't survive, I'd be more angry.

Have you heard about or seen Dean Budnick's book 'Jam Bands'? How do you feel about the Flecktones being in there and considered a part of the jam band scene.

I'm glad to be a part of it. The more different things that I'm considered a part of the better. If I'm considered a part of the bluegrass community, the jazz community - we just won the Playboy Readers' Poll for Jazz Band of the Year - plus a jam band, that's three completely different things that people can check out. That's great.

You had already left New Grass Revival when you first started playing with Victor and Future Man. What's amazing is that the first time you heard Victor play was over the phone. Given the way the Flecktones go where y'all have never gone before musically, do you often still feel the same playing with them now as you did in the beginning?

The simplest answer is that we're all incredibly enthusiastic about music. It makes life very pleasant to play with each other. We're good musicians who can interact with other kinds of music and different musical worlds. That's a lot to feel good about.

On top of that, I feel like I'm part of this community of musicians who create a bigger picture than a lot of them can see. Going from group to group in bluegrass, jazz and rock circles, we're able to see the big picture that sometimes all the separate factions can't. We're proud to be a part of that community of musicians.

What is 'Left of Cool'?

For me, when you're too weird to be cool by normal standards. Popular radio formats, MTV and VH-1 won't play us, because we're too far out. We're too far left of the dial. Or to people from the traditional jazz and bluegrass camps, we're too slick, too modern and trendy, which is the reverse situation. It's a good ambiguity in the title that says it all. That's where we end up, left of cool.

JamBands.com - The OnLine Magazine



By the release of 1998's Left of Cool, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones' once-startling blend of fusion, jazz and bluegrass had lost its ability to surprise. That didn't necessarily mean that they had run out of ideas but it does mean that Left of Cool simply isn't as captivating as earlier efforts by Fleck. For most fans, the pleasure will be finding the little details within the solos, and there's no denying that the group — which now boasts Jeff Coffin in addition to Fleck, Victor Wooten and Roy "Futureman" Wooten — can play. Often, it's enjoyable to just hear them jam, but the problem is often the songs lack any substance beneath the playing. Only a handful of cuts, such as the opener "Throwdown at the Hoedown," really make a lasting impression, but the fact that Left of Cool sounds good as it is playing may be enough for many fans.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide, © 1992 - 2001 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



Bela Fleck & The Flecktones follow the success of their Grammy- winning Live Art with their first new studio album in nearly five years. The result is Left Of Cool: 76 minutes of the most melodic and accessible music The Flecktones have ever made. It also finds banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, bass wizard Victor Wooten and percussion visionary Future Man energized by the arrival of the newest Flecktone, saxophonist Jeff Coffin. As if the sheer musical inventiveness of The Flecktones' dazzlingly eclectic instrumental sound weren't enough, Left Of Cool also features a pair of extremely notable guest vocalists: Dave Matthews sings on two tracks-"Communication" and "Trouble And Strife"-while Amy Grant sings "Step Quiet."

© 2001 Warner Bros. Records. All Rights Reserved.



Bela Fleck. Jeff Coffin. Victor Lemonte Wooten. Future Man. Four individuals. One unique vision.

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones travel between the lines that separate pop, funk, jazz, rock, folk, classical, and bluegrass. Their ten-year musical adventure continues with the release of Left of Cool, the band's first studio album in five years.

On Left of Cool, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones bring their unmatched artistry and imagination to 15 diverse songs, each crossing formats and combining genres in compelling and, using Fleck's word, "friendly" ways. The album demonstrates who Fleck is the only musician ever to be recognized with Grammy nominations in this eclectic range of categories: pop, jazz, bluegrass, spoken word and country. Along with strictly instrumental fare, there are a number of vocal tracks on Left of Cook, compliments of Royel (Future man's vocal alter-ego) and celebrated artists Dave Matthews and Amy Grant. (Fleck returned the favor to Matthews by playing banjo on the new Dave Matthews Band release, Before These Crowded Streets.)

Fleck describes the origin of Left of Cool, which was crafted in his home studio: "We recorded 21 songs altogether in about eight days. We did it in an unusual way. It was like a movie where you shoot a bunch of scenes and the put it together the way you want it. Basically, we'd play each song for a couple of hours, record it all, go on to the next one. Then the band went on a hiatus and I went to work." Fleck's work consisted of editing the best takes from the recording into a disparate, yet coherent, whole. He had some additional input from Roger Nichols of Steely Dan fame, who served as engineer on the project with Fleck and Richard Battaglia. Fleck's approach to assembling the music kept the dynamic interplay of the Flecktones intact, but utilized studio technology to color the performances.

Renowned for their musical mastery, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones are always on top of critics' and readers' polls. this year, the band garnered the Playboy Reader's Poll award for Best Jazz Group, and Fleck was recognized by both the readers and Jazziz and JazzTimes with a Best Miscellaneous instrument prize. Fleck, excited about the honors, crystallized the band's current momentum: "There's been a trajectory lately that's sort of hard to totally understand. I've been voted best instrumentalist, but we never were considered mainstream enough to be the main jazz group of the year. It seems like we've leaped up to much larger venues that are sold-out and there's a lot of talk about the band. Actually, it's felt that way all along, but seems to have stepped up in intensity. I think doing the Dave Matthews' tour last year introduced a whole new bunch of kids to the band."

Along with wowing critics and winning over audiences, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones have consistently had the respect of their peers. the band has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, and won Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1997 for "The Sinister Minister," track from Live Art. When it comes to playing live, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones are committed to bringing their music directly to the people performing over 200 sold-out shows annually. The band has had opening stints with Sting, Phish and The Dave Matthews Band, and because of a devoted worldwide following, toured South Africa, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Philippines, Ireland, Singapore and Thailand. This year, in addition to their ceaseless headlining, the band will play the Newport Folk Festival, Texaco/New York Jazz Festival, Telluride Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and WolfTrap. Fleck hopes to perform again with the Dave Matthews Band on select dates this summer and fall.

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones' road to acclaim began in 1989, with a self-financed, self-titled album that generated an association with Warner Bros. Records. Their debut was released in March 1990 and was followed in June 1991 by Flight of the Cosmic Hippo, which reached No. 1 on the jazz charts. Both albums garnered Grammy nominations for best Instrumental Composition. In 1992, IFO-TOFU landed another Grammy nomination in the Best Instrumental category. Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, in 1993, featured guests Branford Marsalis and Bruce Hornsby. Following in 1996 was Live Art, a live album with a host of special guests: Chick Corea, Edgar Meyer and Jerry Douglas, among others. Live Art encompassed music from Bela Fleck and The Flecktones' entire career and secured the band's first Grammy win.

© 1997 - 2001 ARTISTdirect Inc. All Rights Reserved



What's left for Bela Fleck? Bluegrass, rock, jazz, classical, rock, folk-he's explored them all. After an epic, Grammy-winning live album, Fleck returns to the studio for a surprisingly subtle, intricate suite of instrumentals-and a number of vocal tracks-combining his usual daring on banjo with mandolin, synths, and theremin. The record is a dreamy soundtrack of reggae, pop, world beat, and techno, merging into an ambient-vibe-spin-club-funk-jazz (such a cumbersome label for his agile music). The most satisfying moments come with the most lovely melodies-as on the lilting "Big Country"-when Fleck's traditional soul rises with a clear voice through the virtuosity and studio wizardry.

Roy Francis Kasten, Amazon.com



On 15 tracks [Bela Fleck] supplements [the bluegrass banjo] with mandolin, synthesizer, sitar, various guitars and the multi-stringed theramin. The result is a wonderfully wild musical outing.

Jazz Times



Heavyweight players who make endearingly lightweight new-hippie fusion, the Flecktones have a fine time roaming all over the musical map. ... While Bela and the boys tend to homogenize their eclectic sources, it's hard to resist a band that draws on bluegrass, funk, world music, pop and jazz with such glee and blissful lack of pretension.

Entertainment Weekly (7/17/98, p.85 - Rating: B



This, the sixth album from Béla Fleck and The Flecktones, marks a departure for the group with the addition of vocals and sax. "Throwdown at the Hoedown" is the initial track, vintage Flecktones that doesn't even hint at what's to come. The recording, produced by Fleck and mixed in his home studio, seems a much more experimental potpourri. Eclectic tracks include the charming "Sleeping Dogs Lie," "Let Me Be the One" (which delves into funk-fusion), and the Indian classical inspired "Shanti." Fleck and the core group are still in fine form. New member Jeff Coffins' soprano sax playing quite unexpectedly often brought to mind the phrasing of Branford Marsalis on Sting's "Bring on the Night." For those long-time Fleckfans with a Kenny G aversion, the soprano wailing might prove grating and just a tinge too smooth jazz. Vocals are provided by Dave Matthews and Amy Grant.

Linda Dailey Paulson - November 16, 1998
Dirty Linen



Béla Fleck and the Flecktones offer an amazingly eclectic collection of songs on their new album Left of Cool, the band's first studio album in five years. The Flecktones include a modest three musicians: Future Man (also known as Royel), the band's percussionist and vocalist who plays a drum box called the synthaxe drumitar; Victor Wooten, the band's bassist; and Jeff Coffin, the band's woodwind player. Together with Fleck, arguably one of the world's best and most unique banjo players, the band creates a sound that incorporates jazz, funk, r&b, bluegrass, and folk. Their new effort is also augmented by contributions from guest vocalists Dave Matthews and Amy Grant. A few of the album's high points include instrumentals entitled "Almost 12" and "Big Country," the album's funky lead-off track "Throwdown At The Hoedown," and the bluesy-pop "Trouble and Strife." Overall the album is a long-awaited treat for fans of the band, but its rich diversity offers a great sampling of the band's talent for first-time listeners.

Richard Vath, reviews editor
Arcade - Sept. 4th, 1998



New York's Bela Fleck and Future Man are back with another trippy album of musical fusion that wanders from bluegrass to the Bhagavad Gita to pure madness.

Maybe this band will be seen as incredibly influential someday, the same way they're now releasing roots of rap CDs filled with music no rap musician has ever heard, but for now they come off as a little lost.

I know, I know, it's intentional, but so's modern art. That doesn't always make it good.

Fleck's banjo playing is impeccable, and some truly neat sounds come from the melange, but for most people this stuff is a little too alien, if soothingly alien. Dave Matthews guests, but it's forgettable.

This one's a sleeper, even with the right drugs.

By FISH GRIWKOWSKY - Monday, June 29, 1998
Canoe.ca JAM!



Bela Fleck's state-of-the-art banjo is not your grandparents' banjo.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones create music that finds them on the outside of bluegrass and jazz radio, yet the band's hybrid style remains as tasty and innovative as it has since the early 1990s. For "Left of Cool," Fleck and his talented company - bassist Vic Wooten (the only person twice named Bass Player Magazine's "Bass Player of the Year"), percussionist Roy (Future Man) Wooten and, the band's newest member, woodwind player Jeff Coffin - draw upon many musical influences and experiments. The album draws from Celtic, a bit of funk and Eastern philosophy, bluegrass and a lot of jazz influences. Musically, the band threw away its long-standing rule of not playing anything that couldn't be duplicated live. The experimentations usually work. For the first time, Fleck has included vocals, including the thoughtful "Sojourn of Arjuna" and, Amy Grant singing on "Step Lightly" and Dave Matthews singing "Trouble and Strife." "Left of Cool" may signal a change in direction for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, but it is a direction worth traveling.

Marty Renzhofer - 2 November 1998
The Jazz-Voice On-Line



Bela Fleck and the Flecktones make jazz music for people who don't like jazz music. Fusing together spare parts and leftover bits of funk, jazz, country, bluegrass, pop, and rock, Fleck and his 'tones have been charming serious music fans for years. Unfortunately (for them), they've never been able to garner much mainstream acclaim.

To remedy things, Fleck grabbed his banjo and brought along the Flecktones (who consist of bassist Victor Wooten and drum machine operator Future Man) and went out on tour opening for Dave Matthews Band, even the joining DMB onstage during several shows. Fleck even guests on the latest overblown release from DMB, Before These Crowded Streets.

Banjoist Fleck and bassist Wooten are each preeminent in their fields. On this album they each play like, well, like only they can play. Wooten provides tundras of room for Fleck to rumble across with his cascading banjo work. Behind it all sits Future Man tapping away on his, "drumitar," a drum machine converted into a guitar-like apparatus that essentially allows Future Man (who is actually the brother of Victor) to play a drum machine like some play a drum kit. What is so surprising about the drumitar is Future Man's nimbleness on it. It's virtually impossible to tell that it's being played live, yet it lacks the canned sap of a programmed loop.

The opening track off Left of Cool is, "Throwdown at the Hoedown," a romp built around what sounds like the remnants of the Inspector Gadget theme. Fleck calls on Dave Matthews to contribute the vocal equivalent of loitering on, "Communication," and on, "Trouble and Strife." The latter is possibly the best opportunity for Bela and the 'tones to break through to radio, not only because of Matthews' golden touch, but also because it holds the same innate sense of melody that the most Fleck songs have. Amy Grant also turns up to bolster Royel on, "Step Quiet."

Even on the heels of a Grammy win in 1997 (best pop performance for, "The Sinister Minister"), Fleck isn't afraid to tinker with a winning formula. Such is the genius of the master.

For the first time, vocals play a major part in the Flecktone recipe. The idiosyncratic Future Man sings or speaks on eight of the fifteen tracks, although he is listed as vocalist under the pseudonym, "Royel." While his singing doesn't measure up to his vocal prowess, neither does he embarrass himself. To aid, "Royel," guest vocalists are entailed. There is also a new Flecktone in the mix, Jeff Coffin, who plays saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and flute. While the Flecktones were initially a 4-piece band, their original keyboardist/harmonica player left the band in 1992, and the band soldiered on as a three piece. Coffin's playing adds a life and sparkle to the band's sound, which was tight yet a tiny bit monotonous as a trio.

Unfortunately, there are those that feel a band's musical credibility is predicated upon their commercial success. And George Michael isn't gay, he's just well kept. As long as musicians the caliber of Fleck and the Wooten brothers continue meeting up in recording studios, I'll be happy.

Lang Whitaker - Consumable online



This is the fifth studio album for the band, and the first in nearly five years... but as it proves, Left Of Cool is quite worth the long wait. (Although, the band says the material for this album was written in a period of eight days!) On LoC, the band puts all its artistry and imagination into work, arriving at fifteen diverse songs - in a range of categories like pop, funk, jazz, folk, rock, and classical - and many tracks amalgamating different formats and genres. Bela Fleck plays guitar, banjo, and everything else that is stringed. Victor Wooten, considered one of the world's finest bass players, is phenomenal on bass, and Jeff Coffin's brass and flute add color and flair to the music. (Future Man, the fourth member, has his job on the drum machine and vocals.) This album also features guest artists Amy Grant and Dave Matthews on some vocal tracks. On the production side, the band maintains its reputation in musical mastery with their fine production and engineering of Left of Cool.

George Jegadesh
© 1998 Ink Nineteen



After a few years of acoustic and world music dalliances, touring alongside friends in the Dave Matthews Band, and a live record (the Flecktones' Live Art), virtuoso banjo player Bela Fleck has returned to the comfy confines of the Flecktones. Well, confines isn't exactly the right word-the Flecktones have always been a bubbling vat full of musical creativity, eccentricity, and instrumental prowess, and this CD continues that tradition in fine form. Indeed, Left Of Cool reflects the group's evolution since its last studio record: from Fleck's journeys, to Future Man's vocal education, to the arrival of reedman Jeff Coffin.

The Flecktones work best when another lead player complements Fleck and his dynamic rhythm section, and Coffin fits right in on saxophone and flute, regardless of mood or time signature. Now an official Flecktone, he sounds like he's been one for years.

I have no clue why Future Man calls himself that, but he plays the groovy "synthaxe drumitar" alongside the skillful Vic Wooten on bass. Now, he's trying his hand at singing, and his credit reads "Future Man-vocals as 'Royel'." Again, don't ask me why.

Bela's lyric for "Let Me Be The One" is steeped in cliches, but the other four tracks work well. Especially nice (and surprisingly accessible) is "Step Quiet," with guest vocals by Amy Grant. "Communication" and "Trouble & Strife" both feature Dave Matthews supporting Future Man's lead vocals.

Every Flecktones record walks a line between the weirdness and the beauty such formidable talent is capable of producing. I tend to lean toward the beauty, and they've included that with the moving, traditional theme of "Big Country," along with "Trane To Conamarra" and others. Tracks like "Oddity" are impressive showpieces of dexterity, and the best of both worlds comes out in "Throwdown At The Hoedown," combining a quality theme with major-league chops. In short, the Flecktones are indeed a little left of cool, but they're the perfect alternate route for those tiring of the musical main drag.

Robert Beverly - August 1998
The Music Monitor



Bela Fleck is one of the most innovative musicians in contemporary jazz: he has completely recast the role of the banjo in jazz. Honorary Flecktone Jeff Coffin joins the fold on Left Of Cool, a lengthy and intermittently absorbing CD. Coffin is a Nashville saxophonist who's far jazzier than Paul McCandless, the saxman who usually plays with the Fleckmen. Coffin is a nice addition to the band, though apparently it's a temporary arrangement. This is no landmark album, but many of its melodies will grow on you. I particularly like "Throwdown at the Hoedown," "Big Country," "Trane To Conamarra," and most especially the old-timey jazz number "Sleeping Dogs Lie." Many of these 15 tracks are extremely mellow, but Fleck, Coffin and bass virtuoso Victor Wooten make them interesting. I would have preferred to hear more of Fleck's banjo synth and far less of Future Man's reedy vocals. I also prefer real drums to Future Man's synth-drumitar contraption, but I must admit his invention sounds amazingly like a real drum set. I'll also concede that Future Man and his non-drums are visually appealing in concert. Dave Matthews does a Sting immitation on "Communication," and Amy Grant appears on one tune. An OK Flecktone release, but the boys have done better.

Copyright © 1996-2000 All About Jazz and contributing writers. All rights reserved.



With their latest studio release, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, while aiming for the "left of cool," too often end up hitting the mark a little to the right of boring. Don't get me wrong, this album has got a lot of great cuts; the group just seems to get its musical priorities mixed up every once in a while. Take Future Man, for example, who I am convinced is only in the band because his brother Vic is such a kick-ass bass player ("Hey, uh, Bela, can my brother play with us, too?"). That's why he doesn't use his real name - makes it less obvious. Next to Victor Wooten and Bela Fleck, both absurdly talented musicians, Future Man is little more than a sideshow with a penchant for oddity and a complete wardrobe from Africans-R-Us. Strangely enough, on Left of Cool, the band seems to actually be taking the guy seriously. In the liner notes, his name is not abbreviated to the usual "Futch," but it's spelled out as "Future Man." And, watch out, he appears in eight cuts performing "vocals as Royel." Unfortunately, Futch's vocals as Royel sound pathetically close to Mark Wahlberg's as Dirk Diggler. Another Future Man issue that I have still not resolved is the idea of the "synthaxe drumitar." Call me a stick in the mud, but I'm a steadfast fan of the old "drum set." You know, the one with big cylinders that you bang on with a stick. I'm sorry, but the drumitar just does not sound like real drums. It only really sounds good when Futch throws down in a serious jam with Vic's bass, and that doesn't happen on this album.

Another new side of the Flecktones that we hear on this album is the soprano sax work of Jeff Coffin, a regular guest player on tour. If you look at the cover, he's the guy whose head everyone is standing on. He's relegated to an eerie peripheral presence in the CD jacket photos, but the sound of his horns does not shy away on the album. He's fun to listen to when he jams, but I get fed up when he drowns an otherwise interesting texture with the drone of an overwraught melody. As if Future Man's drumitar doesn't make them sound "muzak" enough. When it comes down to it, innovations and special guests aside, the real heart of interest in this album is in the virtuoso banjo stylings of Bela Fleck and the funky bass work of Victor Wooten, so nothing has really changed at all. Just start at the first song and skip about every other one, and you'll love the album. In characteristic form, Bela presents the more straightforward, accessible tunes around the start of the album with solid tracks like "Throwdown at the Hoedown" (sorry if you don't feel like they actually threw down - I didn't) and "Big Country." In the more remote territory of the double-digit numbered tracks, they display some more wild, eclectic tastes with eastern-influenced tunes like "shanti" and "The Big Blink," featuring Bela on the theramin. They really sound great when Futch and Coffin stick to what they're good at (or don't play at all). The final song is a typically obscure Future Man composition, complete with rain forest sound samples and some acoustic percussion, and go ahead and listen; it's okay - he doesn't sing.

by Rudy Morgan - 1 OCTOBER 1998



Rudy Morgan is a second-year College student who has 30-watt Bose speakers in place of ears and an 8-band EQ where by all rights his face should be. He eats CDs.

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