When I got a hold of five-time Grammy winner Victor Wooten, he was driving through Nashville, Tenn., to pick up his teenaged kids. He had finished a performance at the Tennessee School for the Blind.
Watch Victor Wooten perform “Love is My Favourite Word”
“When I’m home, I try to relieve my wife of all the stuff she’s normally doing,” says the 53-year-old bass player extraordinaire.
Oct. 4 | 8 p.m. | $25-$35
Cargo Concert Hall | Reno, Nev.
Raised in a itinerant Air Force family full of musicians, that’s just the kind of guy he is: friendly, caring, present and artistic.
At the end of the month, Wooten’s new trio is headed out on the road to support the recent release of his 10th album, “Trypnotyx.” Featuring Dennis Chambers (of Santana) on drums and Bob Franceschini (of Paul Simon’s band) on saxophone and flutes, the album crafts a diverse journey through jazz, funk and fusion to demonstrate the virtuosity and musical creativity of this eclectic group. Mostly Franceschini and Wooten wrote the songs, some collaboratively and some individually.
“Develop your own voice. Learn from the others who came before you, but find your own style. When you talk, you have your own voice. You can do the same thing musically.”
–Victor Wooten
“The three of us have played together backing the guitarist Mike Stern (of Blood, Sweat & Tears), but playing as a trio is a new thing for us,” says Wooten. “Before making the record, we did some touring ourselves, which is always a good way to flesh things out. Some of the songs were even written based on the tour. Once we got out on the road, we started to find out who we are as a trio.”
The album’s title came from the idea of “three” mixed with the “tranciful,” voyage-like nature of the group’s sound.
“It’s definitely high-level musicianship done in a way that each artist gets to show a little more of himself,” says Wooten. “Everybody knows about the soloing we can do, but because there is not a chordal instrument in the band, the sax has to play chords using harmonics and the same goes for me. I get to stretch out and play some things on the bass that I’m not usually doing in a band.”
The album also features some guest appearances including one by voicestrumentalist Michael Winslow of “Police Academy” and “Spaceballs” fame.
“I like to say it’s a jazzy version of funk or funky version of jazz,” says Wooten of the new record. “We met Michael at a festival and he jammed with us using only his voice. He’s truly amazing.”
When he’s not touring with his solo group or getting together for a three-week Bela Fleck and the Flecktones reunion tour as he did this past summer “just for fun,” Wooten is developing his craft as an educator. He has been running a camp called Victor Wooten’s Center for Music and Nature every summer outside of Nashville for the past 18 years. More recently, he has been hired on as a visiting professor for Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass.
“When the Flecktones started to grow in popularity, I had the chance to be in Bass Player magazine quite a bit,” Wooten says. “Eventually, they asked to do some workshops and clinics for them and I really enjoyed it. I learned music from my older brother, Regi, so he will always be the best teacher in my opinion. But I took what I learned from him and added some of my own things, too. For the past couple years, I’ve been going to Berklee about once a month.”
With classes such as “Wooten Woodshed” and “The Science and Art of the Jam,” Wooten has proven to be a popular and effective educator at the elite music school.
“I’m lucky,” he says. “Most of my classes are whatever I want to teach and are open to all students, not just bassists.”
Always one to forge his own style and persona, Wooten’s advice to prospective professionals in the music field is as follows: “Develop your own voice. Learn from the others who came before you, but find your own style. When you talk, you have your own voice. You can do the same thing musically. That is to say, you learn to talk very early in life so you have something to say, but talking isn’t about the instrument. It’s about communicating and having something to say. Music should be the same way.”
For more information or for tickets, visit victorwooten.com or cargoreno.com.
