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Flea returns to his first love, jazz

Gus Van Sant

You probably know Flea as the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (or his numerous side projects and collaborations, not to mention his roles in movies and TV going back to the early 1980s). But did you know jazz was his first love?

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a jazz trumpet player. I wanted to be Dizzy Gillespie," he tells Christian McBride. In this conversation, Flea traces his musical path from bebop sessions in his stepfather's living room to a chance encounter with Dizzy backstage at UCLA, and eventually back to the trumpet decades later, with his debut solo album, Honora.

Credits:

Host: Christian McBride; Writers and Producers: Sarah Geledi and Simon Rentner; Mastering: Ron Scalzo; Executive Producer: Steven A. Williams; Executive Producer at NPR Music: Suraya Mohamed; Executive Director of NPR Music: Sonali Mehta.

Copyright 2026 NPR

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Sarah Geledi
Sarah Geledi left her job in advertising in Montreal to pursue a career in music in New York City. She fulfilled that mission, producing content for the JAM Festival at WBGO, segments for The Checkout, and programs for WWOZ and PRI's Afropop Worldwide. She also served as a producer for NYC Winter Jazzfest before landing the "job of her dreams," producing radio for Jazz Night in America.
Simon Rentner