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Pioneering banjo player and innovative bandleader Béla Fleck began the new decade by inking a deal with Sony Music that will result in five recordings for the label: two albums for Sony Classical and three albums for Columbia Records: a solo outing for the jazz division of the imprint and two releases by his celebrated category-defying band the Flecktones.
Fleck launches his association with Sony with the release of Outbound, the aptly-titled Flecktones Columbia CD which features the band performing with an all-star cast of guest artists including vocalists Shawn Colvin and Jon Anderson (of the group Yes), guitarist Adrian Belew, oboe player Paul McCandless, and keyboardist John Medeski (of the jazz jam-band Medeski, Martin & Wood). Like previous Flecktones albums from the past decade, the music on Outbound is a brilliant mélange of styles -- from bluegrass to jazz to world beat -- that is often built around Fleck's concept of "the banjo being weird."
"These are new tunes, most of which we developed organically on the road," says the 41-year-old Fleck. "But we also put together some songs at the last minute in my Nashville studio during the recording process. Usually all the songs are ship-shape before we enter the studio. But for this album we made changes at the end that were for the good. That not only made for more fun but also more spontaneity in the sessions."
As for the title of the CD, Outbound, Fleck says it perfectly reflects the current state of the Flecktones -- founding members Victor Wooten on bass, and Future Man on percussion/vocals and Synth-Axe Drumitar (his hybrid guitar/synth/drum machine invention), and virtuoso saxophonist Jeff Coffin. "There's a sense of us going on a journey, a voyage, instead of a sense of completion. This album represents us -- starting off on a new label and the band becoming even more expansive musically than it already was."
Fleck also notes that the album showcases a new set of self-imposed precepts by which the group approached the recording process. "We've been together so long as a group we don't want to be making the same album over and over again," says Fleck. "In the last several years we've made albums based on concepts that were built on certain rules."
For earlier albums, the band decided they didn't want to record anything in the studio they couldn't perform live. So the rule became: no overdubs. "It was like a game to try to follow that rule while at the same time make it interesting for the listener," says Fleck. "So, even if it sounds like there were more than four people on a given track, it was because we were stretching as a group. For example, I'd be playing synth banjo by holding down a pedal while simultaneously playing acoustic banjo lines over the top."
The rules changed again in 1998 when the Flecktones recorded their sixth CD, Left of Cool. For that recording overdubs were given a green light -- but all the instruments had to be played by the band members. That opened up new windows of creative possibility. "So, if you heard three horns on a track, they were all played by Jeff," explains Fleck, who played guitar on a Flecktones album for the first time. "Or when there were several bass voicings, Victor was responsible for them all."
For Outbound, the boundaries shifted again. "Our new rule for the first album at Sony was to open the doors to guests who could flesh out and color the tunes," says Fleck. "So we invited musicians who are serious and unusual to orchestrate the record. We have strings and horns. It's a very produced album but done in an organic way. We've never done a record like this before. We recorded as a quartet but then went hog wild bringing in our guests to put meat on the bare bones."
Fleck notes that the process was a win-win situation for all involved. The Flecktones got to enlist the services of several distinctive artists from a range of stylistic backgrounds, and the band returned the favor by introducing these distinctive talents to their audience. "Some Flecktones fans may not be familiar with some of the people we have on the album," says Fleck, who cites the impressive list of bassist Edgar Meyer, bassoon player Paul Hanson, steel drummer Andy Narell, Indian tabla player Sandip Burman, Indian classical singer Rita Sahai and Tuvan throat singer Ondar. "They deserve to be heard. We're really happy with their contributions. They make the album feel cohesive."
Updated Dec. 18, 2000
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