I just caught a broadcast of concert footage recorded by Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. If you haven't heard this man & his band play, you need to. I am lucky enough to have Directv and received this as a "free view". I do not think it is available anywhere else, but I do believe that his CD's and/or videos are available in stores.
The band is comprised of world class musicians from all instrumental areas. Mr. Fleck plays a banjo in ways I have never heard done before.He invites musicians to sit with his band and just jam. In the 1 1/2 hours that I watched, he used instruments like bassoons, bagpipes, oboes, french horns, computer beat generators, digital drums, sitars, dobros, saxophones, clarinets, etc... He tends to lean towards beats and sounds that are uncommon.
For instance, he invites this Chinese sitar genius to sit in and does a 15 minute number(?) using Oriental tones and sounds. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!
What is really outstanding about this master of musical agility is how spontaneous he has remained. Mr. Fleck stated in the interview, which was interspaced between outtakes of concert footage, that sometimes when a show is coming up, they will go in for a sound check, get into a groove and just play improvisational music while the crowd is filing in.
This is absolutely enjoyable for anyone who simply enjoys good music. It is a bit on the light jazz side (not exactly my first listening choice), but definitely worth a listen.