The original lineup of the groundbreaking Bela Fleck & The Flecktones-banjoist Bela Fleck, Howard Levy on piano and harmonica, percussionist / drumitarist Roy “Future Man” Wooten and bassist Victor Wooten-will return this winter for Jingle All the Way, a reunion tour spanning their wild and beloved catalog, including reinvented holiday classics from the Grammy-winning album by the same name.
Performing this music together for the first time in over fifteen years, the band will be joined by special guests who appeared on the 2008 studio album: renowned Tuvan throat singing ensemble, Alash, and former Flecktone, saxophonist Jeff Coffin. (While we’re on the subject, the Flecktones will be on a run this August and September, and will join the Dave Matthews Band August 30 at the Gorge in Quincy, WA. Bela sat in with the Dave Matthews Band last November at MSG.) Jingle All the Way marks the first time the original Flecktones, Coffin and Alash have appeared together on stage.
Jingle All the Way kicks off with one night at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville November 26, continues on to the Beacon Theatre in New York City on December 10-the Flecktones’ largest NYC show to date-and wraps in New Orleans on December 20 at the Joy Theater.
Tickets are on sale Friday, July 18 at 10am local time. Artist & VIP presale begins Wednesday, July 16 at 10am local time. All shows will have the option for a VIP pre-show experience, including an intimate soundcheck performance, Q&A with the band, and exclusive merchandise.
In 2009, Jingle All the Way won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album, and hit number 1 on the Top Contemporary Jazz chart.”Growling Tuvan throat singing takes over ‘Jingle Bells.’ ‘Silent Night’ becomes modal jazz with abstruse harmonies. ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ zigzags through a maze of meter shifts and key changes (perhaps ‘The 12 Tones of Christmas’?). And Tchaikovsky’s ‘Danse of the Sugar Plum Fairies’ pings its melody in harmonics from Bela Fleck’s banjo,” describes The New York Times. “Those are just four of the virtuosic transformations Mr. Fleck and his band came up with on an album that applies all sorts of musicianly gamesmanship to Christmas songs (and one Hanukkah tune) that can sometimes take an aural squint to recognize.”
In 1988, Bela formed the Flecktones for a single performance on PBS’ Lonesome Pine Special, and began touring in 1989. “The band was so fresh and powerful that we all wanted more of it,” says Victor, who describes the band as a family. “I think we gave other musicians the courage to be different.” With all manners of genres coming into play – from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk – the sound of this Grammy-winning quartet has created a sound all its own.
“Christmas music is inside everyone’s DNA,” says Fleck. “Jingle All the Way is an open doorway for listeners to understand the Flecktones’ music.”
BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES
Aug 24 El Cajon, CA The Magnolia
Aug 25 Los Angeles, CA The Ford
Aug 26 Berkeley, CA UC Theatre
Aug 28 Eugene, OR The Shedd Institute
Aug 29 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Aug 30 Quincy, WA Gorge Amphitheatre (w/ Dave Matthews Band)
Aug 31 Gallatin Gateway, MT Warren Miller (2 shows)
Sept 1 Ketchum, ID The Argyos (2 shows)
BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES: JINGLE ALL THE WAY
feat. Victor Wooten, Roy “Future Man” Wooten & Howard Levy
with special guests Jeff Coffin & Alash
Nov 26 Nashville, TN The Ryman Auditorium
Nov 28 Nashville, TN The Ryman Auditorium
Nov 29 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre
Nov 30 Ann Arbor, MI Hill Auditorium
Dec 1 Champaign, IL Virginia Theatre
Dec 2 Grand Rapids, MI Devos Performance Hall
Dec 3 Chicago, IL Salt Shed
Dec 5 Ithaca, NY State Theatre
Dec 6 Boston, MA Shubert Theatre
Dec 7 Portland, ME State Theatre
Dec 9 Burlington, VT Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 10 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Dec 11 Rochester, NY Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre
Dec 12 Philadelphia, PA Miller Theater
Dec 13 Stony Brook, NY Staller Center
Dec 14 North Bethesda, MD Music Center at Strathmore
Dec 16 Charlottesville, VA Paramount Theater
Dec 17 Durham, NC Carolina Theatre
Dec 18 Athens, GA Hodgson Concert Hall
Dec 19 Atlanta, GA The Easter
Dec 20 New Orleans, LA Joy Theater