Flea has been working toward his debut solo record his entire life. Before he learned to play bass and joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea’s first musical fixation was the trumpet. He learned to love jazz from his stepfather, a musician who hosted jams at their home. Now 63, Flea has embraced his roots with Honora, a record in that style named after his great-grandmother that features modern jazz and experimental luminaries (along with a couple of Flea’s famous friends, including two Chili Peppers bandmates).

Playing bass and trumpet throughout, Flea has crafted an album that serves as a good entry point for those agnostic to the genre but also satisfies the real heads. Tasteful, accomplished and occasionally out-there, Flea leads a band that includes Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker, KUDU drummer Deantoni Parks, Bright Eyes’ Nathaniel Walcott, and SML’s Josh Johnson and Anna Butterss through 51 minutes of originals and inventive covers. Those covers are particularly interesting, notably a three-song stretch that deconstructs Parliament’s “Maggot Brain” as a trumpet lament, passes the mic to Nick Cave for a subdued take on Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman,” and gives “Thinkin Bout You” a vibey, horn-driven makeover in which Flea’s trumpet and bass replaces Frank Ocean’s vocals. Flea tries out a spoken word call to action on the driving “A Plea,” urging people to find peace amongst the hate of modern discourse and politics: “My blood runs cold/ I’m feeling hate all around,” he cries out. “It’s no solution/ It’s never been a solution.” Despite the experimental bonafides, the strongest track on Honora is the most conventional: “Traffic Lights,” a slinking groove featuring vocals from Thom Yorke that plays like a B-side from Flea and Yorke’s Atoms for Peace project.