"Can you throat-sing "Jingle Bells?" asked banjo master Béla Fleck to Tuvan throat singer, Avan-ool Sam, a vocalist who can carry and harmonize two simultaneous musical lines.
Welcome to the world of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones!
This unearthly, endearing rendition is only one chapter of the musical adventure that is Jingle All The Way (September 30th / Rounder Records), the first holiday collection of the Flecktones' blazing 20-year career.
"We always imagined we would do a holiday album," says Béla, a 10-time Grammy winner who has previously introduced the instrument into jazz, pop, classical and world music settings throughout his 30-year career. "When the Flecktones first got together, we worked out a Christmas medley "