GREATEST HITS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones: Bela Fleck (acoustic & electric banjos, guitar, synthesizer); Roy "Future Man" Wooten (vocals, SynthAxe Drumitar); Howard Levy (harmonica, piano, synthesizer); Victor Lemonte Wooten (fretted & fretless basses). Additional personnel: Dave Matthews (vocals); Jeff Coffin (soprano, alto & tenor saxophones); Paul McCandless (soprano saxophone); Sam Bush (mandolin, fiddle). Includes liner notes by Bela Fleck. Digitally remastered by Keith Blake (1999, Warner Bros. In-house Studio). Composer: B?la Fleck & the Flecktones . B?la Fleck & the Flecktones (Group): B?la Fleck (banjo); Sam Bush (fiddle); Howard Levy (harmonica); Paul McCandless (soprano saxophone); Jeff Coffin (alto saxophone); Victor Wooten (bass instrument); Future Man (unknown instrument). Additional personnel: Dave Matthews (vocals). Beyond the droll title there indeed lies some of the finest material these jazz-bluegrass cross-pollinators have ever recorded. This compilation documents the Bela Fleck & The Flecktones from their start as a trio in 1990 up to their expanded lineup on 1998's LEFT OF COOL, culling the cream of the albums in between. The avant-banjo virtuoso himself sheds some light on the inspiration for each song by including track-by-track annotations in the booklet. GREATEST HITS begins on the same auspicious note as did the band's popularity, with the Grammy-winning instrumental "The Sinister Minister." It's a mysterious, quirky tune that creeps and crawls to Howard Levy's haunting harmonica playing. Two previously unissued tracks are included, with "Shocktime" surely being one of the more mind-blowing examples of the musicianship at hand. Originally intended to be on THREE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, this cut shines a welcome spotlight on Victor Wooten's ebullient, jaw-dropping bass pyrotechnics. "Road House Blues" funks from the Mississippi Delta to the Big Apple with a down-home combo of Bela Fleck on slide-banjo and Jeff Coffin's alto sax grooves.

• Genre: Jazz
• Format: CD
• Released: 11/16/1999