FLEA Honora( Nonesuch)
After forty years of holding down the low end for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Balzary, known to the world as Flea, forges a striking new identity with his solo debut album, Honora. While the Chili Peppers basically pioneered the somewhat loathed sub-genre of rap-rock in the mid- 80s, there was never any debate that Flea had true musical chops, turning his bass prowess into the stuff of legend. While there were always rumors that he was also well-versed in post-bob jazz music and could play a mean trumpet( even appearing on stage with Nirvana, blowing a horn at one point), it seemed incomprehensible that the same guy who churned out shlock like“ Catholic School Girls Rule” could appreciate the smoky, slow-building nuance of Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way. In the years that followed, the Chilis had to grow up fast after the loss of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak( check out the new documentary The Rise Of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel, streaming now on Netflix), forever changing the band ' s DNA. When one door tragically closed, another seemed to open: they found John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith, and nothing was ever the same for them. A shocking maturity began to seep into their sound, culminating in the quintessential grunge-funk masterpiece Blood Sugar Sex Magic. Sure, they were still a fun party band and an unforgettably wild live show, but Anthony Kiedis and Flea also put a significant effort into pushing darker lyrical imagery, resulting in huge hits like“ Under The Bridge,”“ Breaking The Girl,” and“ My Friends.” Addiction and loss were never far away from the band, often a dark cloud belying even their sunniest melodies. After the band released two albums( Unlimited
Love and Return of the Dream Canteen) in 2022, Flea found time to return to the trumpet and bring his skills up to speed after years of neglect. The resulting album, Honora, could not be further away from the Chili Peppers’ sound. A complex undertaking, Honora finds Flea on both bass and trumpet, joined by an eclectic group of studio pros. The time-honored tradition in jazz circles of taking on covers finds Flea subverting Eddie Hazel’ s epic guitar solo on Funkadelic’ s“ Maggot Brain” and even pushing Nick Cave into a wistful take on Glen Campbell’ s“ Wichita Lineman.” He twists Frank Ocean’ s“ Thinking Bout You” into a drumless dream-state, making it nearly unrecognizable from the original. Flea’ s own compositions are equally as fascinating, even cajoling Thom Yorke to sprinkle his creepy( see what I did there) falsetto over the arcane fusion funk of“ Traffic Lights.” The ten-minute centerpiece“ Frailed” glides by on a trip hop groove propelled by hissing snares and a wilting trumpet melody beamed in from the late 1950s. The whole thing is sequenced with the caring eye of a guy who has pored over hundreds of classic albums on the Blue Note, Impulse, and Prestige labels. Will Honora satisfy the average RHCP fan who just wants to hear“ Give It Away” for the thousandth time? No, but after four decades of putting in work, Flea has earned his passion project. You can hear and feel the freedom Flea finds in making this music, like a kid in a candy shop, left all alone to do whatever he wants. Nonesuch Records, which is a subsidiary of Warner Records, took a real risk on this one, as it has to be one of the wildest, least pop-centric releases on a major label this year. Hopefully, the next direction the Chili Peppers will take will have more of Honora’ s freewheeling experimentation.
– Andy Derer
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16 illinoisentertainer. com may 2026