Amazingly, it all works. Layers of aural textures imbue tracks such as the thumping funk number "Scratch & Sniff" with a unique feel. On Fleck's jazz waltz "Lover's Leap," the guest players blend seamlessly into the ensemble while veteran Flecktone Coffin contributes melodic arabesques on clarinet. A handful of solo features, like Futureman's raucous "Ovombo Summit," ol'Ondar's stunning vocal showcase "Alash Khem (Alash River Song)" and Fleck's "Improv/Prelude from Bach Violin Partita #3," allow for unobstructed examinations of individual talent and technique.
Fleck knows his audience and delivers the goods, expanding the narrow notions of jazz/rock instrumentation and carrying on the avant-garde fusion tradition of Sun Ra and his Arkestra. Maybe even eclectic doesn't completely encompass the essence of Fleck's style, but it certainly describes his friends.
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