BELA FLECK AND THE FLECKTONES

At Tufts University

February 21

Meet "The New Jed Clampitt for the Millennium." His name is Bela Fleck. He might not have a mansion in Beverly Hills (yet), but he does know how to play the banjo. That doesn't sound like much, but he sure does. And saying he can play the banjo might just be the understatement of the century.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones delivered a private performance last weekend at Tufts University. Besides Bela, the band includes Victor Wooten on bass guitar, "Future Man" (Wooten's brother) on synthesized percussion and Jeff Coffin on sax. Victor Wooten has been voted Bass Player Magazine's "Bassist of the Year" for three years in a row. And it is little wonder why. His mastery of the instrument leaves you room for no other reaction than a open jawdrop as you let out a few nervous laughs, expecting the Apocalypse. This might seem like a strange statement, but this reviewer does not exaggerate the musicians' incredible technical virtuosity. It speaks for itself in their smoothly amazing, highly humorous comedic flair. They are so in tune with their instruments that making musical jokes is just a natural extension.

This is not to say that the performance was perfect. Indeed, Coffin's tone on the tenor sax was considerably less controlled than that of his soprano sax. And certainly the Flecktones' lyrical pieces were less convincing than their instrumental numbers. The 1999 Grammy-nominated "Big Country," for example, proved that instrumentation is where the strength of the Flecktones lies.

The show concluded with Bela executing about half an hour of solo acoustic work, what he jokingly entitled "his MTV Unplugged Album." These minutes were a showcase for the best of B‚la's unique talents. When Bela starts on the banjo, you might think at first that he is tuning his banjo. That is until you realize that he is actually playing the banjo not by fretting, but by twisting the tuners on the head of the instrument. B‚la even went as far as to fret a note with his nose. He brought his brand blues to new realms, showing not only new territories where music could go, but also where it could come from.

The band then returned, with Coffin doing an impressive job of playing two saxes simultaneously in "The Two Horny Blues." And finally an encore was played with Bela on zither banjo, Coffin on flute, "Future Man" tapping a Spanish percussion box and Victor Wooten on cello. The final piece encapsulated the best thing that this concert offered--a chance to see some really down-to-earth guys play some incredible music while making the audience laugh all along the way.