Ten years ago, Horacee Arnold seemed poised for a take-off. His Tales Of The Exonerated Flea LP—released in the heyday of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, and Return To Forever—got the kind of reviews that many of the other fusionists only dreamt about (five stars in down beat, for example, with reviewer Marv Hohman calling it “certainly one of the year’s major accomplishments”). With sensitive writing and a cast of characters that included Jan Hammer, Rick Laird, Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie, Sonny Fortune, and Dom Um Romao, Tales Of The Exonerated Flea was certain to push Arnold to the same level of popularity as his Columbia label mates, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report, but nothing happened. Horacee Arnold (the second “e” is silent) was born in Wayland, Kentucky, on September 25, 1937. Before Flea, he had been a journeyman drummer with a wide range of activities—ranging from working with […]

November 1984 Issue