LOS ANGELES (AP) — On his first ever solo album, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ eccentric bassist Flea is full of surprises. He opens with a track that serves as an abbreviated segue between what most fans know him for and what they will get on the rest of his jazz record “Honora.”
Although “Golden Wingship” doesn’t sound quite like something one would expect from the Peppers, of which Flea has been a member since the band’s founding more than four decades ago, the psychedelic instrumental blends the skronking sound of free jazz with familiar rock instrumentation, culminating in discordant cacophony.
It’s really not until the second song, “A Plea,” that the 63-year-old bassist shows his cards and reveals the focus on this, his 10-track jazz album: Flea’s first love, the trumpet, which he plays throughout the rest of the album.
A smooth flute over Flea’s funky bass line and conspicuous trumpet dominate most of the nearly 8-minute track before Flea offers an impassioned lyrical plea: “Now we are human beings right here. / Human beings / We’re here, together,” he shouts. “Live for peace / Live for love / It’s all we got / See the god in everyone.”
Those who have only casually followed Flea’s career might be surprised that the famed rocker and sometimes actor chose jazz music for his solo debut. But in a way, it’s a return to form. The Australian-American multi-instrumentalist has long spoken about his early love of improvisation music and the trumpet, specifically, until fate stepped in and his career exploded as a teenager in a rock band.
In addition to his musical fluency, Flea also relies on a powerhouse list of collaborators, including Thom Yorke. In one collaboration, Nick Cave croons over a sultry guitar and Flea’s soothing Flumpet — a hybrid brass instrument — on a cover of Glen Campbell’s 1968 “Wichita Lineman,” written by Jimmy Webb.
Speaking of covers, the album is, perhaps to a fault, made up of several of them — four in total. That includes Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain,” which opens with Flea’s own rendition of George Clinton’s spoken word intro, followed by a soothing instrumental configuration of flute, clarinet, vibraphone and, of course, trumpet.
There’s also an instrumental rendition of Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You,” which boasts a wistful arrangement of strings on top of Flea’s electric bass and trumpet.
Like much of the Peppers’ discography, “Honora” walks the thin line of being approachable but still interesting within its particular genre, though this particular album tends to err on the side of accessibility. Flea-loving jazz novices need not be intimidated.
Three and a half stars out of five.
On repeat: “Free As I Want to Be,” “Wichita Lineman”
Skip it: “Golden Wingship”
For fans of: Thundercat, George Clinton, “The Big Lebowski”
