Biography

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is a primarily instrumental group from the United States, that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion, and jazz, sometimes dubbed “blue-bop.” The band formed in 1988, initially to perform once on the PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) series Lonesome Pine Specials. The Flecktones have toured extensively since then, often playing over 200 concerts per year.

Frontman Béla Fleck plays acoustic and electric banjos, mixing a bluegrass and folk sound into a modern improvisational style. Fleck has received Grammy nominations for jazz, bluegrass, pop, spoken word and country.

Brothers Victor Wooten and Roy “Future Man” Wooten form the rhythm section. Victor Wooten is widely lauded in jazz circles for his sometimes hyperkinetic slap and pop technique on bass guitar. Future Man plays percussion using the one and only ‘Synthaxe Drumitar’, a MIDI controller shaped like a guitar.

Membership in The Flecktones is little changed since the band released its eponymous first album.

Harmonica and keyboards player Howard Levy appeared on the Flecktones’ first three albums. After Levy’s departure, Fleck and the Wooten Brothers regrouped on the album Three Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, the title a reference to the 1975 movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest based on Ken Kesey’s novel. Saxophonist Jeff Coffin joined the band beginning with the album Left of Cool.

The band has won several Grammy awards.

Each of the current members of the quartet has released at least one solo album. The band’s name is a play on the name of the 1960s rock band Dick Dale and His Del-Tones.

The band went on an amicable year-long hiatus throughout 2005, during which the individual members toured frequently in other configurations.

Since late 2009, the Flecktones have been touring with founding member and harmonica player Howard Levy for the first time in 18 years under the moniker “Béla Fleck and the Original Flecktones.”