Béla Fleck & The Flecktones Jingle All The Way (CD)

(Rounder Records) 16 tracks

Béla Fleck, often described as the best banjo player in the world, has made a name for himself as a virtuoso instrumentalist who refuses to be pinned down to one particular genre. His band The Flecktones - Victor Wooten on electric bass, Jeff Coffin on saxophone and flute and Future Man on drums - are as talented and experimental as Fleck himself, and together they have recorded a series of critically acclaimed albums that combine bluegrass, jazz, funk and world music with technical prowess, boundless imagination and occasional craziness. Their new Christmas CD Jingle All the Way is all that, with bells and jingles - Christmas music like you've never heard it before, with unique sound textures (banjo, throat singing from Tuva, klezmer mandolin), hot solos and tight ensemble arrangements that make every beat new. Jingle All the Way is the perfect gift for anyone who likes their Christmas music fun and sophisticated at the same time.