New Release: Honora by Flea (Nonesuch Records)

As the world-renowned and uber-famous bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea (born Michael Peter Balzary in Melbourne, Australia), has been on the forefront of rock and roll – more specifically, rock funk – since their inception in the early ’80s. Known for his shirtless, over-the-top, hyper self, he was nicknamed “Flea” in middle school – not due to his diminutive frame, but his inability to sit still.

His stepfather was jazz musician Walter Urban, who not only turned young Micheal onto jazz, but also created a home environment marked by instability, substance abuse, and violence. Flea has been open about turning to drugs as a coping mechanism in his youth, yet he still credits Urban as his primary musical influence.

He first took up the trumpet and was a true jazz fan. It wasn’t until meeting classmate Anthony Kiedis that he was fully introduced to rock and punk. “We were both social outcasts. We found each other and it turned out to be the longest-lasting friendship of my life,” Flea once reported. Hailed and respected as one of music’s greatest bass slappers, Flea has returned to his childhood love of jazz with his debut solo album Honora.

The first single, “A Plea,” is a trumpet-bass blast with the artist himself speaking the lyrics “I don’t care about your fucking politics / I don’t wanna hear about your politics,” and “Everything besides love is cowardice / You wanna be brave, you wanna be tough? / Peace and love is the toughest hardest thing you can do.” Flea always has and always will promote love as the answer to the world’s woes.

Detractors of the RHCP may be taken aback with this new side of Flea, an undeniable master musician. For anyone who watched him in the punk rock dad doc The Other F Word, his heart and human side were on full display.

Honora is comprised of six original songs, plus Flea’s take on classics from such luminaries as George Clinton and Eddie Hazel, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor, and Ann Ronell. The album’s second single is “Traffic Lights,” co-written by Flea and former Atoms for Peace bandmate Thom Yorke. The Radiohead-esque piece underscores how close to the jazz sun Yorke’s band has flown. It’s a beautiful work of art. The third and final single (to date) is a superb orchestral cover of Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You,” a song that calms the nerves and lifts the spirits.

One other track on the album featuring a guest vocalist is the Jimmy Webb classic “Wichita Lineman” with Nick Cave on the mic. It’s a slowed, darker version of the song made famous by Glen Campbell. ‘Tis a beauty, with Flea adding heart via trumpet. The jazz standard “Willow Weep for Me,” written by Ann Ronell in 1932 and made famous in ’68 by Wes Montgomery is approached from a melancholy angle. Flea on a plaintive trumpet and a Moog synthesizer making this a sci-fi treasure.

Anna Butterss, bassist for Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit, shows up on the caffeine-infused “Morning Cry,” along with Jeff Parker of Tortoise. On the Funkadelic cover “Maggot Brain,” Flea replaces the Eddie Hazel guitar solo with his trumpet and it totally works. Flea’s opening narration is nearly word-for-word to match George Clinton’s original.

Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time
Because, ladies and gentlemen, you have knocked her up
I have tasted the minds of the maggots of the universe
But I was not offended
For I knew I had to rise above it all
Or drown in my own shit

“Free As I Want to Be” is the album closer. The Flea original possesses a funk beat with a background chorus chanting the title over the artist’s experimental trumpet impulses. Flea has created a refreshing alter-ego which many never knew existed, but has been lying dormant for decades. We’re all the luckier that he’s now sharing it with us.

For information on listening/purchasing Honora, visit Nonesuch Records or Bandcamp; for tour info, check out Flea’s website.