Customer Reviews

Live at the Quick

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A loyal fan of the 'Tones since I was 12, I am continually impressed by the amazing musicianship that these players seemingly exude from every pore on their bodies. As a musician, I listen to each different part as it is played, and it is my opinion that the members of this band are as tight, if not more so, than any other group out there now, or maybe ever. The interaction between not just the instruments, but the personalities, styles, and voices (yes, we do get to hear Bela sing :) ) gives the listener the appearance of a much more orchestrated product than it orginally seems. On the DVD, we are treated to the stage fun that the Flecktones have, interacting with each other through their music like a group of childhood friends in a toy store. The interviews with the band give those who have not been able to meet these amazing individuals insight into the band and find out exactly how much this music really means to them, and exactly what it evolved from and into.
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are simply incredible, to put it mildly, and with the release of yet another live disc, it confirms the fact in my mind that there is nothing like a live Fleck show; the live performance brings out the most amazing aspects of each players talents. To you reading this now, if you haven't purchased it yet, do so. You don't know what you're missing.

Bela Fleck has added another one to the "win" column.

This live recording with the Flecktones, material drawn mostly from "Outbound," is a wonderful listen for all.

Listeners unfamiliar with the group will find this an accessible and enjoyable introduction. No typical live-album fluff, no watered-down versions of studio favorites, no "in jokes" for the already-initiated. It's solid playing from front to back, rich and varied. It captures the astonishing and delightful musicianship of their studio work as well as the playfulness and energy of their live performances.

Longtime fans will find this recording a good addition to their Flecktones collection, even though most songs appear in other studio recordings. The live arrangements are fresh, the group's improvisations endlessly inventive, and the guest musicians tasteful and well-integrated, for the most part. It's familiar ground covered in new ways -- one could hardly call it a rehash of previous releases.

Overall, a very strong release from a group with many strong releases already under their belt. Sincere, virtuosic, creative, tight as hell, energetic. Good stuff.

The Flecktones are unique. There is no other way to describe them. Just look through all the reviews of their albums. Live Art. Live at the Quick. Left of Cool. UFO TOFU. Outbound. Little Worlds. Just look at any of these albums and reviews and you'll realize they're always 5 stars. There is a reason. These guys are not only technically fantastic. They are original, inventive, beautiful, fascinating...and you'll find yourself humming the tunes over and over again and playing them constantly in your car. Big Country, Blu-Bop, Sherpa, Puffy...all of us Flecktone-heads can tell you all the tunes but this isn't slickly produced fluff for the mass market. It's difficult,complicated, engaging, interesting stuff. It attracts followers who stick like glue. I've gone to a couple of concerts since discovering him and they are just like the albums. Incredible. Fun. Worth every penny. His music is sort of like classical music for the jazz set. Fleck can improvise and make music with the best of them and attracts Chick Corea, Branford, Hornsby, Derek Trucks, Edgar Meyer, Even Josh Bell and John Williams (the guitarist, not the conductor although he probably has a gig with the Boston Pops in his future if he wants it. He goes way out with Indian, African, Chinese, it must be a hoot to tour with them because they are always trying new stuff and making music from the most unlikely sources.

One final note. Get the DVD Live at the Quick watch it and after you are blown away, loan it to all your friends. I gave it to my brother as a Christmas present last year and found it that it has been passed around his kids school, even the choir director at the school has picked up on it and is doing numbers with Tuvan throat singing!! you have to get the DVD to see what I mean. Every bass player has probably worn it out trying to figure out how Victor does all that weird stuff.

Get this CD and DVD and become a Flecktone fan if you want to see and hear great music by an original. Now read the rest of those 5 star reviews.

This CD envelops me and makes me forget everything but music

I've known of Bela Fleck for nearly 8 years, and have admired him from afar, so to speak. Then I saw, very very fortuitously, the "Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Live at the Quick" rerunning on PBS one morning when I had been awake for nearly 30 hours. I was mesmerized.

This experience is fully realized on the CD release of the same concert. Bela has never been more generous with his music or more diverse in his collaboration than here, at least in his recorded work.

I can listen to the phenomenally layered rendition of "Big Country" ten times a day for ten years and continue to lose myself in the impossible bass guitar & soprano sax duet in the middle and fall farther into the lush exuberant expression of musical virtuosity again and again and again.

Oh ... and then there is the Improv / Amazing Grace by bassist Victor Wooten. The bass guitar isn't an instrument that logically lends itself to beautiful solo music. Victor turns the bass into a sublime instrument, and throughout this solo you wonder how one musician could possibly be creating this three dimensional sound. Literally, his guitar sings. And it's a bass, and damn it you will be left breathless after hearing this song.

Live at the Quick is an incredible snapshot of the best musicianship of our time.

You won't be disappointed. Who else but Fleck takes so many musical influences and mixes them together to provide us with such a delicious menu of good taste. Gourmet music for the heart.
The Tuvan throat singing is amazing, Indian tabalas, a funky oboe solo, one guy plays two saxes at once, Future-man's drum-i-tar and the African influences PLUS bluegrass and rock and the most amazing concert footage [on the DVD] sounds SO good with my home theater system in surround sound. You won't believe their rendition of Aaron Copland's 'Hoedown.'

I was first introduced to Bela Fleck as a frequent musical guest with the Dave Matthews Band. When I searched for music by the Flecktones, I was immediately taken by the group's amazing ability to improv during songs.

Live at the Quick has many great examples of that rare gift, especially in Vic Wooten's Improv and Amazing Grace, Big Country, A Moment So Close, and the final number, Hoedown (a cover of Aaron Copeland's American Masterpiece). In addition to the CD, I recommend the DVD, becase it has an encore with Congar Ol'Ondar performing a really light number, A Shu Dekio (another awesome improv piece). There's also a bonus number, a cover of Benny Goodman's Breakfast Feud (again, amazing improv).

The guests for this show were awesome, each contributing more to the music than can be imagined, fully rounding out a quartet that was amazing to begin with. If you only buy one CD of music by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, this should be it.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones have a "big band" concert which rehashes many of the songs on the "Outbound" studio CD. The live disc, I feel, works better because it has more spirit. Even though there are a lot of guests with different styles, it all works together fine because the guests, frankly, aren't prominent in the mix. You have to listen closely. One notable exception is Ondar's exceptional Tuvan throat singing on "Alash Khem", which he does solo. If you're deciding between "Outbound" and this one, pick this one. If you already have "Outbound", your decision will hang on just how much you like the Flecktones!

I admit when I first heard about this album I was a bit skeptical. After buying this album and listening to it a couple million times, I have to say this is one of the best albums I own. The quality of musicianship here is incredible. Victor Wooten is, in my opinion, the best bass player in the world today and this album proves my point. Jeff Coffin doesn't do much for me, but he still sounds good, albeit a little to loud for my taste. Paul McCandles on woodwinds (English Horn and Oboe are the highlights) is an amazing improviser and I love his tone. Standout guest artists on this record have to be Paul Hanson on bassoon and Congar 'Ol Ondar, the throat singer. Hanson is unbelievable, playing essentially bebop bassoon, making it almost sound like a synthesizer at times (i.e. "Scratch and Sniff"). Congar 'Ol Ondar's use of multiphonics makes you swear there's one guy singing and someone else playing flute, but it's really just one guy. And then of course, there's banjo master Bela Fleck. He never ceases to amaze on this record, playing classical, jazz, pop, and bluegrass on his banjo. His rendition of Parita No. 3 is proof that in the hands of the right player, classical banjo can work. Musical highlights of this album for me are "Zona Mona" (I really dig the melody and the banjo riff), "Scratch and Sniff (Paul Hanson's infectious and jaw dropping bassoon solo at the beginning and Victor Wooten's solo later on are worth a listen), "A Moment So Close"(Ondar's throat singing and a percusion duet between Victor Wooten and tabla player Sandip Burman will catch you off guard) and "Hoedown" (the whole song just rocks. It also has what i call the "Psychic Duet" which is a solo by Bela Fleck, accompanied by tabla player Sandip Burman. Listen to it and you'll see.) Every tune on this album is infectious, well written, and exceptionally well played. You can't help but smile the whole time you're listening to it.

`Live at the Quick' is a snapshot taken of a band with all pistons firing. While most people wouldn't necessarily think of a banjo as an explosive instrument, Bela Fleck makes it so. Of course, he can also make it sound so delicate that you think it might just collapse in his hands. The same can be said for the virtuoso bass playing of Victor Wooten, quite possibly the most gifted musician I have ever heard play live (Fleck is another contender). This is a terrific addition to any music collection, particularly if you are interested in improvisation and modern variations on traditional music.

You absolutely must get this CD. It is incredible, the musicians are so talented and the music flows greatly with a very weird sound that is cool if you are into Bela, check it out fans, 5 STARS!