The Deal: Bassist redefines the range and direction of the bottom end.
The Good: What makes Victor Wooten such an outstanding musician is not only his versatility with the bass as a lead instrument, but his ability to jump around in such in a wide variety of genres, sounding equally at home in each. For his latest, he leaps from jazz to funk to soul to gospel to afrobeat, demonstrating that he speaks all those musical languages fluently. “I Saw God,” with its afrobeat-backed spoken word commentary about an ordinary god who looks just like you and me is a bit out of the ordinary for the bassist. “Miss U” is gospel-pop featuring the sacred steel sound of the Lee Boys. But the most out of character for Wooten and the most mellow side he’s exhibited to date is on “Us 2,” with Wooten on slide bass accompanying Keb Mo’s slide guitar.
The Bad: Playing up the bassist’s jazzy side sometimes scares away potential listeners who would appreciate the bassists soulful fluid groove if they’d dig around in his work a bit. Wooten’s never stuck in or on one genre.
The Verdict: Wooten’s technical proficiency never comes off as show-off stuff. It’s jaw-dropping, but rooted in so much rhythm and soul you’re more interested in feeling it than analyzing it.
This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2008.
