REVIEW: Bela Fleck, Tales From The Acoustic Planet (Warner)

- Kelley Crowley

The hardest working man on the banjo, Bela Fleck, has given the lovers of jazz banjo bluegrass another reason to smile. Fleck's latest offering for the discriminating ear is Tales From The Acoustic Planet. This solo project has given Fleck the opportunity to work with a variety of musicians from a variety of musical backgrounds. From Chick Corea and Branford Marsalis to Bruce Hornsby and Edgar Meyer the record is a power combination of talents.

In the liner notes Fleck claims that these songs are from his own private stash over the last 20 years and some he has saved because he liked them too much to record until the Acoustic Planet sessions.

"First Light" is a touching and soothing track featuring Edgar Meyer on acoustic bass and Paul McCandless on the oboe. The scene of early morning tranquillity with the oboe is remarkable.

"Backwoods Galaxy" is the first time Marsalis and Corea have ever played together and the chemistry is obvious. The Flecktones cover the rhythm and Marsalis and Corea do the rest.

Fleck says, "Chick Corea stunned me when he agreed to play on this album. When I told Bruce (Hornsby) that Chick was gonna play Bruce said, "You'd better start practicing now."

The real beauty of the project is that these talented musicians played live together with no overdubs. The spontaneity of Acoustic Planet is inspiring. The musicians learned all the music together in one room. When the song came together the moment was recorded for our enjoyment. Tales From The Acoustic Planet could be Fleck's best work to date. Listen to some of Fleck's other recordings like UFO TOFU and Flight of the Cosmic Hippo and compare them.

Don't miss Fleck on the Acoustic Planet world tour since many of these amazing musicians will be joining him on most dates. If you want to keep up to date on-line with Bela's work, check via e-mail at Flecktone@aol.com or in the newsgroup alt.music.bela-fleck.