Flea and the Honora Band shows a different side of Flea, best known as the highly physical, expressive bassist of Red Hot Chili Peppers. On stage with that band, he has spent decades as a visible and restless presence. Less obvious, but just as central, is his background in jazz. Before the bass guitar became his main instrument, Flea started out on trumpet, and that early way of listening still shapes how he approaches music. With this project, he steps away from tight song structures and familiar rock dynamics. The music is looser and more open-ended. Rhythm remains important, but nothing is fixed. Bass, trumpet, voice, and silence constantly change their roles. Jazz is not treated as a style to reference, but as a working method: paying attention, responding to others, taking risks. Live, the music feels searching and alive. Ideas emerge, shift direction, and sometimes disappear altogether. The Honora Band brings together musicians from Los Angeles’ jazz and experimental scenes, including Josh Johnson, Jeff Parker, and Deantoni Parks. Each player contributes a distinct voice, without fixed roles or hierarchy. At Jazz Middelheim, Flea does not appear as a rock icon, but as part of an ensemble. What unfolds is created in the moment: music rooted in jazz, open to chance, and shaped by close listening.