The legendary bassist debuts his solo record, a jazz album featuring Thom Yorke, Nick Cave, and an ensemble of modern jazz heavyweights, arriving on March 27.
After nearly 50 years as one of rock’s most recognisable bassists, Flea is releasing his first full-length solo album—and it’s not all slappin’ the bass. Honora, arriving March 27 via Nonesuch Records, sees the Red Hot Chili Peppers co-founder returning to his first musical love: jazz. More specifically, he’s returning to the trumpet, the instrument he played before Hillel Slovak convinced him to pick up the bass at sixteen.
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Named after a beloved family member, Honora features Flea on both trumpet and bass, handling composition and arrangement duties across ten tracks. He’s assembled of modern jazz players including producer and saxophonist Josh Johnson, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Deantoni Parks. Vocals come from Flea himself, plus contributions from Thom Yorke and Nick Cave, with additional appearances from Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms for Peace) and Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes).
The album’s first single, “Traffic Lights,” co-written with Yorke and Johnson has dropped, with Flea stating: “Deantoni and I played what became ‘Traffic Lights’ the first day. Something about it reminded me of Atoms for Peace, so I sent it to Thom.” Yorke’s melody and lyrics explore navigating a world where it’s increasingly difficult to distinguish what’s real from what isn’t.
Flea’s jazz roots run deep. Growing up, he witnessed bebop sessions in his own living room when family friends gathered to play. “It was the greatest thing I ever saw,” he recalls. “The wildness, warmth and awe of it. Straight bebop. Boom.” Watching those sessions, he knew he’d found something transcendent—heroes like Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Clifford Brown became his north stars.
But life had other plans—his friendship with Slovak led to decades of stadium tours and multi-platinum albums. Back in 1991, while filming My Own Private Idaho, Flea told a friend he wanted to make “an instrumental record with deep hypnotic grooves, trippy melodies layered on top, meditations on a groove.” The catch was that he needed to learn the trumpet.
As his sixtieth birthday approached, Flea realised it was now or never. He committed to practising trumpet daily for two years, while setting off on a Red Hot Chili Peppers stadium tour and life with a newborn at home. At the end of those two years, he’d make the album regardless of where his abilities landed.
Honora includes six original compositions plus interpretations of songs by George Clinton and Eddie Hazel, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor, and Ann Ronell. Flea and the Honora band kick off an intimate international tour in May, hitting select North American and European cities.
Pre-orders are available now.
