Watch Flea transform US National Anthem into jazz odyssey

14 April marked basketball legend Kobe Bryant's final game for the Los Angeles Lakers, but before the team faced the Utah Jazz, longtime Kobe fan and Red Hot Chili Peppers bass madman Flea performed some jazz of his own in a pre-game rendition of the US National Anthem.

In time-honoured National Anthem tradition, Flea took a little artistic license with the melody, adding in a number of wah-heavy, 'outside' licks that left viewers baffled - Twitter responses ranged from "my ears are still bleeding from the 'national anthem' by Flea" (Kiel Eigen) to "Flea's National Anthem was as bad as the Lakers have been the last three years" (#NeverTrump).

Flea once described Kobe as a "master of his craft", comparing him to Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix. One thing's for sure: nobody is making the same comparisons with Flea's performance.

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Michael Astley-Brown

Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.