Flight of the Cosmic Hippo

This is an early example of one of the most innovative bands in existence. If you only like to listen to bands that you can categorize, skip this CD. These four amazing musicians combine the best from all genres to make the best music possible. This CD is all instrumental. Bela Fleck plays the banjo and electric banjo in ways you have only heard if you're familiar with this artist. He is amazing! Victor Wooten, in turn, plays bass in new and amazing ways. He will astound you. Howard Levy plays piano and harmonica (often at the same time) and gets an outrageous range of notes from a simple diatonic harmonica. You have to hear it to believe it. Finally. Roy Wooten (aka Future Man) provides percussion in a completely different way. He has built a synth-axe drumitar which he plays flawlessly. You'll believe you are listening to real drums, but it creates other effects as well. If you don't have this one yet, by all means don't hesitate! Buy it now!

How can I describe this genre bending CD. Five stars isn't enough, I can tell you that. Not a bad track on here at all.
Is this 'Funk-grass' or 'Jazz-grass' or 'New-Grass'????? Defies definition and therefore satisifies the longing for superb music.
Buy it you won't be disappointed. Wonderful rendition of the Beatles 'Michelle'... excellent re-tooling of our National Anthem ... super version of Star of the County Down...marvelous original compositions as well.
Why haven't you heard more of Fleck?
American Radio only seems to cater to the mediocre ... Fleck is not.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, that amazing quartet who gave us their 1990 self-titled album as well as their UFO TOFO CD, now gives us another masterpiece. The group consists of the Wooten Brothers on bass guitar and drum synthesiser, banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck and Howard Levy on piano and harmonica.

The presence of Fleck's banjo makes it difficult to disassociate their music from Bluegrass, but the music they play is much more complex. Jazz-Fusion is a catch-all phrase that is used as a blanket to cover almost anything modern in the Jazz world. this album would probably fall into that category. The music is other-worldly without being so out there as to be rendered unlistenable.

Again, Howard Levy's magical approach to the humble diatonic harmonica is nothing short of miraculous. To non-harmonica playing listeners, it might seem that you are simply listening to a great harmonica player. But to those of us who know the instrument, Howard is playing notes that aren't even...Read more