''Left of Cool'' is the fifth studio album released by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, released in 1998.

History

''Left of Cool'' is the first album to feature

Jeff Coffin Jeff Coffin (born August 5, 1965) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, with whom he performed from 1997 until 2010. In July 2008, Coffin began t ...

, who had already toured with the band after the departure of

Howard Levy Howard Levy (born July 31, 1951) is an American multi-instrumentalist. A keyboardist and virtuoso harmonica player, Levy "has been realistically presented as one of the most important and radical harmonica innovators of the twentieth century. ...

. The album cover depicts

Future Man Roy Wilfred Wooten (born October 13, 1957), also known as RoyEl, best known by his stage name Future Man (also written Futureman and known to fans as Futche) is an American musician, inventor and composer. He is best known as a member of jazz ...

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...

, and

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

standing on Coffin's head. On the ''Live at the Quick'' DVD, Fleck describes how, after the melody for "Big Country" came to him, he called his answering machine and sang it so it would not be lost. A different arrangement of "Sojourn of Arjuna" appears on Victor Wooten's album '' What Did He Say?'' released the previous year. Guests include Dave Matthews and

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

. ''Left of Cool'' is currently the highest-charting Flecktones album to date, as it reached #191 on

The Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists ...

Reception

In his

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review, music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "Often, it's enjoyable to just hear them jam; however, for most fans, the greatest pleasure on Left of Cool will be finding the little details within the solos. The opener, 'Throwdown at the Hoedown', is one of a handful of cuts that really makes a lasting impression."

Track listing

:''Note: the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

swap tracks 6 and 7 & 11 and 12. The list below reflects the tracks as they are ordered on the album itself.'' #"Throwdown At The Hoedown" (

) – 5:09 #"Communication" (music: B. Fleck/

; lyrics: B. Fleck) – 4:16 #"Big Country" (B. Fleck) – 5:31 #"Sojourn Of Arjuna" (music:

/Future Man; lyrics: Future Man, adapted from Bhagavad Gita) – 5:27 #"Let Me Be The One" (music: V. Wooten/B. Fleck/Future Man; lyrics: B. Fleck) – 4:38 #"Trane To Conamarra" (B. Fleck/

) – 6:48 #"Almost 12" (V. Wooten/B. Fleck/Future Man) – 3:15 #"Step Quiet" (B. Fleck/Sarah Mason) – 4:02 #"Oddity" (B. Fleck) – 5:32 #"Sleeping Dogs Lie" (B. Fleck) – 4:02 #"Trouble and Strife" (B. Fleck) – 5:15 #"Slow Walker" (B. Fleck) – 5:23 #"Shanti" (B. Fleck/J. Coffin) – 5:12 #"The Big Blink" (B. Fleck) – 7:57 #"Prelude To Silence" (Future Man) – 3:55

Personnel

The Flecktones

- banjo (tracks 1, 5–7, 11, 12, 14), banjos (track 2), Deering Crossfire electric banjo (tracks 4, 15), low-tuned Czech electric banjo (track 3), synths (tracks 3, 4, 12, 15), nylon and steel string banjos (track 9), gut string Stelling banjo (track 10), Nechville

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

banjo (track 13), mandolin (tracks 8, 9, 11), Paradis stereo guitar with VG8 (tracks 2, 8),

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s (track 6),

gut string guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor ...

(track 13),

synth guitar A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnersh ...

(track 14),

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

(track 14) *

- Synth-Axe Drumitar (tracks 1–9, 11, 12, 14), cajon (tracks 10, 13, 15), leg slaps (track 13), bells (track 15), samples (track 15),

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

(tracks 1, 2, 4–6, 8, 11, 12) *

- bass (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–9, 11, 12, 14),

fretless bass A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them befo ...

(tracks 3, 6), tenor bass (track 12), standup bass (track 10), standup electric bass (track 15),

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

(track 13), fiddle (track 11) *

- soprano saxophone (tracks 2, 3, 6, 8, 10–12),

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

(tracks 1, 3–5, 14), baritone saxophone (track 5), baritone wah-wah saxophone (track 5), flute (tracks 6, 9, 13), clarinet (track 10), bass clarinet (track 10),

saxello The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

(track 9),

singing bowl A standing bell or resting bell is an inverted bell (instrument), bell, supported from below with the rim uppermost. Such bells are normally bowl-shaped, and exist in a wide range of sizes, from a few centimetres to a metre in diameter. They are ...

(track 13)

Guest musicians

* Dave Matthews - vocals on tracks 2 and 11 *

- vocals on track 8

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums 1998 albums Warner Records albums