Bela Fleck Live At The Quick CD

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones: Bela Fleck (banjo, guitar, synthesizer);
Jeff Coffin (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet); Victor Lemonte Wooten (synthesizer, electric bass); Future Man (synthesizer, percussion, electronic percussion, background vocals).
Additional personnel includes: Congar Ol'Ondar (throat singing); Paul McCandless (sopranino saxophone, soprano saxophone, oboe, English horn);
Paul Hanson (bassoon); Andy Narell (keyboards, steel pans); Sandip Burman (tabla).
Recorded live in 2000. Includes liner notes by Bela Fleck.
Anyone who saw the Flecktones in their early days probably told you that it was an amazing experience, and a big part of that praise undoubtedly focused on the group's improvised jams. With Victor Wooten sometimes playing two basses simultaneously and Fleck wandering through the audience picking cosmic banjo lines, their shows were spectacles to be enjoyed for the simple thrill of hearing virtuosos play music that was mind-boggling but somehow utterly accessible. It's sad, then, that the group's live albums, while preserving the energy, have never quite captured the humor of those early shows. Many fans could relay stories of Fleck and Wooten's astounding call-and-response duels, which could incorporate anything from Tchaikovsky to full-throttle bluegrass breakdowns. The rapport was hilarious, and it endeared people to a group who might otherwise go down as whimsical showoffs. However, while the old shows may be legendary, the new ones aren't bad either, and the above isn't meant to say that Live at the Quick is a bad album; actually, there's plenty of stuff that Flecktones fans love, including Wooten's now-trademark arrangement of "Amazing Grace" and a Bach "Prelude" from Fleck's classical music projects. The concert was recorded with the Flecktone Big Band and features guest appearances from Paul McCandless, Andy Narell, Paul Hansen, tabla player Sandip Burman, and Tuvan throat singer Congar ol'Ondar. All that makes Live at the Quick the band's most diverse record yet, and fans of Fleck's post-Acoustic Planet work will be amply rewarded. ~ Jim Smith
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones bring sophistication to the hard-to-define genre of jam-band music. While Phish and Dave Matthews Band helped to modernize the jam-band approach, Bela Fleck almost single-handedly took it to the next level by employing a drummer who plays on a home-made, electronic "drumitar" and by using his own instrument--the banjo--more like a jazz guitar. Fleck certainly knows how to break down musical borders and sandblast musical stereotypes.
On LIVE AT THE QUICK, Fleck takes his penchant for all things weird one step further by employing an improvising oboist and bassoonist, a steel drummer, a Tuvan throat singer, and a tabla player. What makes Fleck so interesting, unique, and downright brilliant, is his ability to take a motley bunch such as this and create cohesive, listener-friendly music. Particularly strong tracks include the hypnotic "Big Country," which features a riveting electric solo by Fleck, and the Middle-Eastern influenced "A Moment So Close." On the latter, we are treated to the bass virtuosity of Victor Wooten, together with Sandip Burman's tabla playing and Congar Ol'Ondar's fascinating throat singing.JazzTimes (5/02, pp.114,116) - "...Sure to delight the Flecktones faithful while showing the uninitiated what they've been missing..."
Mojo (Publisher) (7/02, p.106) - "...The virtuosity dazzles..."