Rocket Science is a studio album by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is a primarily instrumental group from the United States, that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion and jazz, sometimes dubbed "blu-bop". The band formed in 1988, initially to perform once on the PBS series Lonesome Pine Specials. The Flecktones have toured extensively...

, released in 2011. It reached number 1 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Jazz chart and number 36 on the Top Independent Albums chart.

The album is the first since 1992's UFO Tofu

UFO Tofu

UFO Tofu is the third album released by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, released in 1992. The title is a palindrome, which is also a musical theme in the title track, according to the album's liner notes.- Reception :...

to feature founding member Howard Levy

Howard Levy

Howard Levy is a Grammy Award–winning, American harmonicist, pianist, composer, and producer....

 in the regular band lineup.

Reception

In his Allmusic review, music critic Thom Jurek praised the album, calling the Flecktones re-energized. He wrote "With Levy on harmonica and piano, it's as if he never left. Rather than try to re-create the band's old sound, the Flecktones push ever further into their own seamless, unclassifiable meld of jazz, progressive bluegrass, rock, classical, funk, and world music traditions on this delightful—and at times mind-blowing—record."

Track listing

1. "Gravity Lane" (Béla Fleck
   Béla Fleck
   Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...
   
   ) - 5:58
2. "Prickly Pear" (Fleck) - 3:49
3. "Joyful Spring" (Howard Levy
   Howard Levy
   Howard Levy is a Grammy Award–winning, American harmonicist, pianist, composer, and producer....
   
   ) - 2:39
4. "Life In Eleven" (Levy, Fleck) - 5:25
5. "Falling Forward" (Fleck) - 5:08
6. "Storm Warning" (Fleck) - 7:57
7. "Like Water" (Victor Lemonte Wooten
   Victor Wooten
   Victor Lemonte Wooten is an American bass player, composer, author, and producer, and has been the recipient of five Grammy Awards....
   
   , Fleck) - 4:42
8. "Earthling Parade" (Fleck) - 7:58
9. "The Secret Drawer" (Future Man
   Future Man
   Roy Wilfred Wooten , also known as "RoyEl", best known by his stage name Future Man , is an inventor, musician, and composer...
   
   ) - 2:12
10. "Sweet Pomegranates" (Levy) - 5:55
11. "Falani" (Fleck) - 6:50
12. "Bottle Rocket" (Fleck) - 5:53

Personnel

• Béla Fleck
  Béla Fleck
  Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...
  
   – 5-string banjo, electric banjo
• Future Man
  Future Man
  Roy Wilfred Wooten , also known as "RoyEl", best known by his stage name Future Man , is an inventor, musician, and composer...
  
   – drumitar, acoustic drums, percussion
• Howard Levy
  Howard Levy
  Howard Levy is a Grammy Award–winning, American harmonicist, pianist, composer, and producer....
  
   – bass Harmonica, harmonica, piano
• Victor Wooten
  Victor Wooten
  Victor Lemonte Wooten is an American bass player, composer, author, and producer, and has been the recipient of five Grammy Awards....
  
  – bass, fretless bass

Production notes:

• Béla Fleck – producer
• Kevin Dailey – engineer
• Richard Battaglia – engineer
• Richard Dodd – mastering
• Jeremy Cowart – photography
• Sean Marlowe – art direction, design
• Paul Grosso – cover art, creative director