He cites New OrleansвЂ™ veteran Don Vappie, but heвЂ™s generally in the mode of traditions going back to those earliest years of jazz. Asked about others doing anything comparable today, heвЂ™s kinda stumped. Even after 30 years of forging a path for banjo in modern jazz, Fleck remains singular. See, banjo is pretty much standard in any jazz bandвЂ¦ in 1919. вЂњIвЂ™m playing with Chick Corea, which is ridiculous, on a regular basis,вЂќ he marvels, having just returned home from a tour with the ceaselessly groundbreaking pianist.Д«ut, while belated acceptance in the jazz world is frustrating, he understands. And Fleck has found himself partnering regularly on recordings and tours with some of the greats of jazz, one in particular in an ongoing partnership. And last year the band was given the prestigious Miles Davis Award by the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Sure, the Flecktones have had several albums go to the top of the jazz sales and airplay charts and they have won two Grammy Awards for contemporary jazz album, with Outbound in 2000 and The Hidden Lands in 2006. Now weвЂ™re in the headlining slot and weвЂ™re legacy artists.вЂќ вЂњFrom the start I was begging to play it and they said, вЂYeah, weвЂ™ll put you on at noonвЂ™ and weвЂ™d play once every four years or so. вЂњItвЂ™s one of the neat things to being around 30 years,вЂќ he says of that booking. The Playboy slot is, to Fleck, a particularly meaningful recognition. And on June 8 they will be taking a cherished headlining slot at the Hollywood BowlвЂ™s vaunted Playboy Jazz Festival. This 30th anniversary tour began with a big вЂњFriends and FamilyвЂќ kickoff May 30 at Red Rocks near Denver, the friends and family here including Washburn, saxophonist Jeff Coffin, Dobro genius Jerry Douglas, and the Colorado Symphony. TheyвЂ™ll be sharing that joy on the road now, including two shows of particular import. With the balloons at the party, it occurred to me that you fill them up and they become joyful. But these tunes IвЂ™d written, we filled them up with Futureman and Victor and Howard - the balloons get real handsome. The tunes are strong, good things to pour everyoneвЂ™s musical power into. вЂњCouldnвЂ™t just be a groove or a shred-fest. вЂњIt has to have heart, has to have melodies, some harmonies,вЂќ says Fleck, who turns 61 in July. HeвЂ™s the brains of the outfit.вЂќДЇleckвЂ™s role? вЂњSomehow I thought I was the heart of it, limiting it but making it more understandable for the common man - I was the common man in the band, surrounded by these crazy guys.вЂќД«ut with a moment to reflect on their collective history and achievements, he finds descriptions of the magic they work together to be elusive. Futureman, he says, is an вЂњempath and enabler - musical enabler, brings consciousness underneath you.вЂќ Victor Wooten too. ItвЂ™s challenging and exciting, enlivening the qualities that made this alchemical combo of characters special from the very start. TheyвЂ™re even pulling out such rarely played and decidedly difficult gems as вЂњJekyll and Hyde (and Ted and Alice)вЂќ from the bandвЂ™s second album, 1991вЂ™s Flight of the Cosmic Hippo. IвЂ™m realizing it more and more as years go by, one of the great relationships in our lives, musically and personally.вЂќ ThereвЂ™s a very special bond we have together. вЂњCurious, interested, ever-expanding, ever-pulling me with them. вЂњTheyвЂ™re the same guys they were when I first met them,вЂќ he says, speaking from home. WootenвЂ™s brother Roy), digging deep into their group catalog of complex flights of fancy mixing daredevil chops, musical depth, and persistent whimsy has been a blast. Working again with harmonica player/pianist Howard Levy, bassist Victor Wooten, and the singular electro-acoustic percussionist known as Futureman (a.k.a. HeвЂ™s been in rehearsals with his cohorts in the beloved jazz-and-way-beyond Flecktones, in preparation for a tour marking the bandвЂ™s 30th birthday. It was the 6th birthday of the eldest of two children of the three-finger-style banjo maestro and his clawhammer-style counterpart, frequent recording and touring partner and wife Abigail Washburn.Д«ut the days surrounding this have also had a party vibe. Just the day before, his Nashville house was filled with them, as well as with a few dozen kids.

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