Bèla Fleck & The Flecktones The Hidden Land Music
by Bèla Fleck & The Flecktones

About this Music

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones have wowed audiences for years and pioneered a genre all their own, mixing virtuosic musicianship with experimental, bluegrass, jazz, and pop influences. With their new album, The Hidden Land Fleck, along with bassist Victor Wooten, percussionist Future Man, and saxophonist Jeff Coffin, mark a stripped down and explosive return to their roots, and a new creative peak. Sony. 2006.

Banjo player Bela Fleck has a world-class set of chops and a willingness to follow his muse wherever it takes him. The band ranges far and wide once again on the The Hidden Land ­ it opens with a Bach Fugue, delves into swing, has a bit of bluegrass, does progressive rock, and jets to several other locales. But the everything-and-the-kitchen sink concept is still considerable more streamlined than 2003's Little Worlds, an overproduced and under-focused three-CD set. Highlights here include Fleck's pickin' on a progressive country stomp called "Weed Whacker" and the playful "Couch Potato," which has a hyper edge that doesn't match the sedentary implications of the title. The band's telepathic interaction is highlighted on the Middle East-influenced "Chennai," ­where musical lines are played in unison or tossed back and forth, making the song crackle with energy. The broad aesthetic and restless sonic changes might be a bit much for some, but a patient survey of this album will be rewarded. ­--Tad Hendrickson