{"id":8429,"date":"2013-01-01T21:20:38","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T04:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=8429"},"modified":"2013-01-02T23:58:06","modified_gmt":"2013-01-03T06:58:06","slug":"victor-wooten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2013\/01\/victor-wooten\/","title":{"rendered":"VICTOR WOOTEN"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

VICTOR WOOTEN<\/h1>\n

The bass virtuoso follows his own path to musical innovation \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Over the course of eight solo records, and many others he\u2019s recorded as a member of progressive bluegrass band Bela Fleck and the Flecktones,\u00a0Victor Wooten has shown he\u2019s rarely content to play by the rules. As one of today\u2019s most innovative musicians, he\u2019s furthered the evolution of bass from traditional role of backing rhythm to front and center as a lead instrument. \u201cOne of my gifts is to know the rules of music well enough to break them,\u201d Wooten says.<\/p>\n

The five-time Grammy winner proves that again, releasing two new albums simultaneously on his own Vix Records label. Words and Tones<\/em> and Sword and Stone<\/em> contain many of the same songs\u2014the former featuring vocal versions and the latter entirely instrumental.<\/p>\n

Wooten learned the bass at an early age and soon became a member of the family group the Wooten Brothers Band. He and his four brothers\u2014guitarist Regi, drummer Roy, saxophonist Rudy and keyboardist Joseph\u2014performed professionally throughout the 1970s around their hometown of Hampton, Va., before relocating to Nashville in the mid-\u201980s. He credits his older siblings for helping him stretch his musical parameters. \u201cRegi showed me how to use my thumb to go in two directions, the way you would use a guitar pick,\u201d he says. \u201cThat was a technical turning point because that expanded what I could do with my thumb.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victor had another, less technical turning point during his early teens. \u201cIt dawned on me in junior high that I\u2019d never have to get a real job if I kept doing this,\u201d he says. \u201cSo I started learning more and realized the gift of music was in the palm of my hand, and I could do anything with it. It\u2019s like once you have the power to count to 10, you have the power to go as high as you want to go. No matter how high you count, you\u2019ll never come to the end. I look at music that way. I\u2019m no closer to the end of it. I\u2019m just seeing how high I can count by going and going and going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wooten\u2019s career took a leap in 1987 when he connected with banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck. During their first meeting the two jammed for hours in Fleck\u2019s kitchen. The session planted the seeds for the Flecktones\u2014Bela\u2019s backing band that includes Victor\u2019s brother Roy (known by his stage name, Future Man).<\/p>\n

Right now, Victor\u2019s focus is on his solo albums\u2014and not surprisingly, extended bass solos dominate. One track,<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep It Low,\u201d features no less than a dozen musicians playing basses simultaneously. \u201cIt\u2019s rare that I have a song totally complete when I bring the other musicians in,\u201d says Wooten. \u201cI want the other players to contribute and affect the arrangements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wooten also devotes a portion of his time to teaching classes, workshops and seminars, including his Wooten Woods musical camps, which have become an annual tradition. He\u2019s written several books about bass technique and recorded instructional videos. Wooten believes musical expression is similar to language communication. \u201cBabies aren\u2019t born speaking English, but they are born with emotions,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s the way they communicate those emotions that\u2019s important, not the language they use. It\u2019s the same with music. It\u2019s not necessarily about learning the instrument. It\u2019s more about learning to communicate with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wooten extends the metaphor to his instrument. \u201cThe electric bass is still an infant. It\u2019s only about 60 years old, and it\u2019s changing every day. People are paying attention to what I\u2019m doing, and I appreciate that. But I\u2019ve also got to say we haven\u2019t seen anything yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Lee Zimmerman<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VICTOR WOOTEN The bass virtuoso follows his own path to musical innovation \u00a0\u00a0 Over the course of eight solo records, and many others he\u2019s recorded as a member of progressive bluegrass band Bela Fleck and the Flecktones,\u00a0Victor Wooten has shown he\u2019s rarely content to play by the rules. As one of today\u2019s most innovative musicians, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[5661,5475],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8429"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8429"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8528,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8429\/revisions\/8528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}