Review: Wooten woos a Bear Tooth crowd

Posted by arts_reviews

Posted: May 2, 2008 - 2:47 am

Dawnell Smith
Daily News Correspondent

When you put on your listening ears to hear the Victor Wooten Band, you can expect to learn a lesson or two.

But when Wooten took his mostly solo rendering of "The Lesson" into a controlled but thundering bass loop of remarkable mastery last night at the Bear Tooth, more than a few jaws dropped. And when he layered on another loop and played with both, even the buzzed young bucks in back looked spellbound.

Not to mention all the local bass players, jazz guitarists, horn players and composers standing in the audience.

Wooten playing with Bela Fleck: Darla Khazei/Association Press archive 2001

Suffice it to say that Wooten sure can play, wielding his bass like a rhythmic, melodic, harmonic dynamo. Drenched in sweat and good energy by the night's end, Wooten and his band raged through two-hours of funk, jazz, rhythm and blues, hip-hop and hardcore sonic mayhem, sometimes all at the same tune.

The band opened with "2 Timers," a dense but catchy song by Wooten, and then meandered through songs from his latest album, Palmystery, along with a few barnburners to boot. Wooten's compositions tend to sustain a spiritual, uplifting soundscape, often incorporating vocals as both sound and narrative, such as in the earnest spoken word tune, "I Saw God," or the ethereal "Cambo."

The jazz-influenced, funk-fortified concert moved seamlessly from a reggae ditty to hip-hop, world music and raging solos.

Folks really got jazzed when drummer Derico Williams tore it up in "Left, Right & Center," a Wooten song originally recorded with three drummers. William played alone and shook some bones with his set of sticks.

The rest of the band includes Joseph Wooten on keyboards, Saundra Williams on vocals, Anthony Wellington on bass and Regi Wooten on guitar. At one point, Victor Wooten introduced his older brother as "The Teacher." Soon enough, Regi popped, slapped, strummed and whirled his guitar into a state of hysteria.

By night's end, the band turned full circle with the exuberant "Miss U" and a lingering goodbye on stage. With all those brothers and old friends playing together, the band sends out the right energy—confident, but humble; impressive, but grateful.

By now, bass player Nick Petumenos is probably marveling at his good fortune. He took a call just days before the show asking him if he wanted to open for the band. Before Victor Wooten? Well, in that kind of situation, you can't help but say, "Yes. No. Yes. No," said Petumenos.

Fortunately, he said "yes," because his band (Ira Sellers on guitar, Brandon Cockburn on drums) did a good job playing everything from Miles Davis to the Temptations with a guitar, drums and bass.

Of course, after watching Wooten's band play, it's clear that a single instrument can accomplish just as much as several, and several can jam beyond no man's land.

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