Béla Fleck and the Flecktones Albums Ranked

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is an American band that combines jazz and bluegrass music. The Flecktones formed in 1988 when Béla Fleck was invited to perform on the PBS TV series The Lonesome Pine Specials. The original members were Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten on bass guitar, his brother Roy Wooten on Drumitar, and Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboards. After Levy’s departure in 1992 the group continued as a trio for several years until recruiting Jeff Coffin in 1997 on saxophones. Coffin quit the group in 2010, and Levy rejoined in 2011. In June 2012, following another summer tour, the Flecktones announced their hiatus as a band. In January 2016, the Flecktones announced a short reunion tour scheduled for June 2016, confirming an appearance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival on June 16, 2016. 2017, the band announced concerts for June–August 2017, and also confirmed a tour with Chick Corea Elektric Band in August 2017. Here are all of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums ranked.

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10. Little Worlds

“When I first listened to this cd, I didn’t like it as much as their previous ones. This cd has more expirimental stuff and less upbeat stuff. I kind of got the feeling of improv during a lot of the songs. As I listened to it more, I began to get and enjoy more and more of the songs. A couple of them I still don’t like very much; these usually are the ones that have weird voices in them.”

9. UFO Tofu 

“This is their most enjoyable record. Other than the closing track, I can listen to all of this. The title track is a wonder to behold. Great concept and execution. If you only try one of their discs, this should be it. Of note, this is the last studio disc before Howard Levy left the band”

8. Three Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest 

“Howard Levy has moved on, and left the Flecktones as a trio. They do an admirable job filling the space, but the guy held down two featured instruments in the band, so his loss is evident. There are great songs here, particularly the opener, Vix 9, and Monkey See, with it’s ridiculously cool Wooten bass solo. But there is filler too. And The Message is as vile as a rap song on a fusion album sounds.”

7. Outbound 

“A pretty good flecktones album but there are a few songs that are excellent (Outbound, Zona Mona, Shuba Yatra, Earth Jam) that make it worth giving it a listen. Having the steel drums added in a bunch of the songs gives this album a unique sound compared to their other work.”

6. The Hidden Land 

“They finally got rid of all the incessant guest stars, and all the atrocious vocals, and just made it about 4 guys in a room again. All kinds of good stuff results. Weed Whacker, Kaleidoscope, and Chennai in particular, really cook. Sure, there a couple stinkers like Misunderstood and Who’s Got Three, but they always had that element”

5. Rocket Science 

“A pretty much perfect return to form for this the still most recent Flecktones release. No one really sounds like these guys at all and here is proof of that. Seriously not a bad song on this album.”

4. Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo 

“A lesser record than the debut. Starts off with a bang, with one of their best ever tunes, in Blu-Bop. The next couple of tracks are good as well, but most of the rest of it doesn’t move the needle, until Hole in the Wall. Solid, but ultimately, for completists only.”

3. Live At The Quick 

“This is contemporary hybrid jazz with ties to world, country, classical music and knowing that Bela has bluegrass in is background anything might happen. This live record takes the excellent studio album _Outbound_ a step further. There is the excitement of the live audience, with additional tracks and expanded instrumentation, solo’s and interaction amongst the musicians.”

2. Bela Fleck & The Flecktones 

“Proggish jazz/bluegrass with a banjo as the lead instrument. Really cool stuff. I like that all the songs are original compositions, too. One thing that often slightly annoys me about jazz is how many albums are just musicians interpreting standards.”

1. Live Art 

“One of my favorite live albums ever. Essentially kicks ass from the start, just listen to Bela’s solo on ‘new South Africa! My only complaint is a lag at the end of disk 1. After that, Disk 2 starts great and keeps them coming, with a special nod to the amazing rendition of ‘oh darlin’ ft. “the one and only johnny c.” who I think the booklet says is John Cohn?? I dunno but he’s got a killer voice. A perfect introduction to the Flecktones for any new listener!”