Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, featuring Victor Lemonte, Wooten, Future Man, and Jeff Coffin, whose exciting banjo-driven mix of jazz, bluegrass, R&B, funk and worldbeat have won them a legion of fans in sold-out concerts throughout the world will perform two innovative concerts with special guests in Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Friday, Nov., 17, at 7:30 and 10 p.m.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones' road to acclaim began in 1989 with a self-financed, self-titled album that generated an association with Warner Brothers Records. The album debut was followed in 1991 by "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo," which reached No. 1 on the jazz charts. Both albums garnered Grammy nominations for Best Instrumental Composition. In 1992, "UFO-TOFU" landed them another Grammy nomination in the Best Instrumental category. In 1996, the band released "Live Art," a live album with a host of special guests, which secured their first Grammy win.

Fleck began the new decade by inking a deal with Sony Music that will result in five recordings. He launched this association with the release of "Outbound," with the band performing a brilliant melange of styles - from bluegrass to jazz to world beat - that is often built around Fleck's concept of "the banjo being weird." Their sixth CD, "Left of Cool," released in 1998, demonstrated why Fleck is the only musician ever to be recognized with Grammy nominations in an eclectic range of categories: pop, jazz, bluegrass, spoken word and country.

When it comes to playing live, the band is committed to bringing its music directly to the people and they perform more than 200 sold-out shows annually. They have played opening stints with Sting, Phish and the Dave Matthews Band and, because of their worldwide following, have toured South Africa, Indonesia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Ireland, Singapore and Thailand. In addition to ceaseless headlining, they have also played the Newport Folk Festival, Texaco/New York Jazz Festival, Telluride Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and Wolf Trap.

Tickets to Bela Fleck and the Flecktones concert are $30, with discounts available for seniors, students and groups of 20 or more, and may be reserved by calling the box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.

Posted On: 10-02-2000 09:10 AM

Volume: 33 Number: 50