Before The Bass, Flea’s First Love Was Always The Trumpet
Flea and the Honora Band have arrived behind the Tiny Desk, and no, this is not a Red Hot Chili Peppers set squeezed between office shelves. The founding bassist steps into another part of himself for a jazzy, snazzy, sleek and occasionally rambunctious three-song performance built around Honora, his first full-length solo album.
The set moves through “Traffic Lights,” “Morning Cry” and “A Plea” with Flea switching among trumpet, bass, vocals and spoken poetry. But the most important thing he says may be the least rock-star sentence available: “I’m just one part of this ensemble.”
That ensemble is serious business. Jeff Parker brings guitar, Josh Johnson handles saxophone and keys, Anna Butterss anchors the low end, and Deantoni Parks moves between drums and keys. All four also played on Honora, giving the Tiny Desk set the loose communication of musicians who already know where the music can bend without breaking.
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Flea’s Jazz Chapter Is Officially Open
Honora reaches back to Flea’s first instrument while moving far outside the usual rock-star solo-project lane. Visit his official home, then keep the album and more adventurous jazz vinyl within reach.
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Honora is the record Flea spent roughly 35 years wanting to make. Long before the Chili Peppers turned his bass into one of rock’s most recognizable sounds, trumpet was his first musical love. As a child, he watched family friends play live bebop in his living room and became obsessed with the freedom of Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown.
His path changed at 16, when Hillel Slovak asked him to pick up the bass for a rock band. The detour lasted nearly five decades. Still, Flea never entirely abandoned the idea of an instrumental record built from hypnotic grooves and melodies floating above them. Honora finally lets that old desire stop waiting politely in the hallway.
The opening “Traffic Lights” began as a first-day jam between Flea and Deantoni Parks before Flea sent the idea to Thom Yorke. Yorke and Josh Johnson helped complete the song, but the Tiny Desk version does not feel like it is waiting for its famous guest. Parker, Johnson, Butterss and Parks keep it alive as a conversation rather than a replica.
“Morning Cry” gives the players room to listen as much as perform, while “A Plea” pulls Flea’s trumpet, funk instincts, poetry and raw vocal delivery into the same closing statement. Nothing here is trying to prove that the bassist can secretly play jazz. The set works because he does not treat jazz like a costume—or himself like the only person worth watching.
That humility is also thee source of the performance’s spark. Flea may be the familiar face, but Parker’s guitar patience, Johnson’s arrangement instincts, Butterss’ grounding and Parks’ elastic rhythm repeatedly redirect the center of gravity. The most exciting moments happen when nobody appears interested in winning.
The album has already rewarded the long wait. Released by Nonesuch Records on March 27, Honora became Flea’s first solo chart entry and reached No. 1 on jazz charts in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. It also landed as the top new jazz album in the United States, with appearances from Thom Yorke and Nick Cave across the full 10-track record.
Six tracks are Flea originals, while the remaining selections reinterpret songs associated with George Clinton and Eddie Hazel, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Ann Ronell. That mixture makes sense beside the Tiny Desk: reverence is present, but obedience is not.
Flea And The Honora Band Take Over The Tiny Desk
The supplied gallery follows Flea from trumpet to bass to vocals while Jeff Parker, Josh Johnson, Anna Butterss and Deantoni Parks keep the room moving around him.
Video stills from the official NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert. Produced by Kara Frame and Josh Newell; directed and edited by Maia Stern; audio directed and mixed by Josh Newell.
For somebody whose bass has spent decades filling stadiums, Flea sounds perfectly at home making smaller movements matter. The desk is tiny. The musical curiosity is not.
Watch Flea And The Honora Band’s Full Tiny Desk Concert
The complete NPR Music performance features “Traffic Lights,” “Morning Cry” and “A Plea,” with Flea moving among trumpet, bass, vocals and poetry.
Source: NPR Music and Nonesuch Records.
