Flea is going solo, and he’s bringing his jazz roots with him
The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist announces his debut solo album, featuring Thom Yorke, Nick Cave, and a return to his first love: the trumpet.
Photo by Gus Van Sant
For someone who’s spent nearly half a century anchoring one of the loudest bands on the planet, Flea has taken his time getting around to a proper solo album. That wait ends March 27, when he releases Honora, his first full-length record under his own name—and a sharp left turn away from funk-punk bombast toward jazz, trumpet, and intimate ensemble playing.
Flea’s going back to his roots for this one. Before he ever picked up the bass, he played the trumpet. His first memory of music is the very one that kindled his love for jazz: “It was the greatest thing I ever saw,” he said, recalling family friends playing together in his home. “The wildness, warmth and awe of it. Straight Bebop. Boom. I knew there were higher things on this earth, way above the pettiness that had left me disheartened. The holy trifecta of my life, music, sports and nature was complete.”
As the Red Hot Chili Peppers grew in popularity, Flea found himself playing the trumpet less and less, but that doesn’t mean he stopped thinking about it; he even told a friend back in 1991, “I want to make an instrumental record with deep hypnotic grooves, trippy melodies layered on top, meditations on a groove.” But as he realized recently, he’s nearing his 60s—so if not now, when?
Hence the creation of Honora, which was named after a member of Flea’s family and composed and arranged entirely by Flea, who plays trumpet and bass across the album’s 10 tracks. The sessions brought together an eclectic ensemble spanning modern jazz and experimental rock, including guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss, drummer Deantoni Parks, and guest vocalists Yorke and Nick Cave. Additional contributions come from Mauro Refosco and Nate Walcott. The album mixes original compositions with reworked songs by the likes of George Clinton, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean, and Ann Ronell, reflecting Flea’s long-held ambition to make an instrumental-forward record rooted in groove, improvisation, and atmosphere.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.