Bela Fleck In Discussions For Flecktones Reunion

In June 2012 Béla Fleck issued a statement that brought the 24-year career of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones to a sudden stop. Fleck revealed the band was about to start a hiatus and that it would “likely be several years til we can marshall the flecktone forces again.” More than three years later, the marshaling seems to have begun.

JamBase reader Conor Clay asked Fleck on Twitter if there was any chance of the Flecktones getting back together for a tour. Bela, who’s quite active on Twitter, responded “It’s on our radar, in discussions currently.”

Bela Fleck formed the Flecktones in 1988 with multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy, bassist Victor Wooten and drummer Roy “Futureman” Wooten. Levy left the band in 1993, though he returned to the fold in 2011. Saxophonist Jeff Coffin was added to the band in 1998 and left to join the Dave Matthews Band full-time in 2010.

Here’s the note Bela shared in June 2012:

It’s been a phenomenal year for the band. We came back together to make a new recording (Rocket Science on E1) and to tour for a year, and we certainly did both of those things to the fullest extent possible. Having Howard Levy brought back the wild and unruly energy – and combustion – that the original line-up always had. But now 18 years later – we’re all grown up, so it was a very new experience for us, as well. The shows went through the roof, and I can’t think of one that didn’t go great. You guys came out and supported our efforts, bringing us the final element that we needed to ensure that the magic would occur. I feel that the band hit new heights in cohesion, and group improv, and individual musical achievement. And we had a great time while doing it.

As the tour wound down towards the end of our time together, we began to consider when we would do this again. And everyone was eager for that to happen. But it will likely be several years til we can marshall the flecktone forces again, due to the rich and varied lives and careers that everyone has developed through the years. I do invite you to follow us each separately, because I think everyone is doing wonderful things. And I look forward to the next time when the Flecktones play together again, Best regards to all –

Bela Fleck