By Matthew Kassel
After nearly two decades, the original line-up of The Flecktones - (left to right) Roy “Future Man” Wooten, Howard Levy, Bela Fleck, and Victor Wooten - has reunited for a new album and tour. (Photo courtesy of McCarter Theatre.)
Banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck has performed at McCarter Theatre many times in the past with his jazz-bluegrass quartet, the Flecktones, and they will be returning to Princeton in November for a reunion of sorts, joined by an original member, Howard Levy, who left the band almost 20 years ago.
Tenor saxophonist Jeff Coffin, a longtime member of the Flecktones, left to tour with the Dave Matthews Band, and Levy, a harmonica and piano player, filled the spot—returning the group to its first configuration. Though Coffin’s parting was amicable, Fleck said that there are currently no plans to bring him back into the band.
“I believe that these kinds of changes yield immense opportunities, if you are willing to embrace them,” Fleck said via email. “Our fourteen years with Jeff yielded a different and very appealing sound. Now returning to Howard is a familiar yet new paradigm.”
The new-old group—rounded out by Victor Wooten on bass and his older brother Roy “Future Man” Wooten on Drumitar, a handheld electronic percussion instrument in the shape of a guitar—released a record this year: Rocket Science. They will perform selections from that album on tour, along with songs from the band’s first three albums recorded from 1988 to 1992.
“This album features more co-writing with Howard and myself, which is a welcome change of energy, and it propels us in new directions,” Fleck said.
In terms of pure sound, the addition of Levy has allowed the band to investigate different moods and textures.
“Now I have a chording instrument to play with. When Jeff was in the band, the banjo was the only one,” Fleck said, adding: “Also the harmonica as a jazz instrument is quite unusual, so it makes the whole sound of the band more unique.”
The band will be touring until April, passing through McCarter Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. Each member will return to his separate solo career by the tour’s end, but for now, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones are a tight-knit group.
“I think the music we are creating with Howard is some of the best of our career. And I am loving being with Victor and Future Man and our whole crew again,” Fleck said. “It’s turned into a long and very sweet relationship.”
