Victor Wooten The Bass Player

I started searching and watching his lessons on YouTube after my dad was talking about him saying he was the best bassist ever (I soon came realized just how great he is), that what inspired me to learn more about the Bass. Soon after my dad let me have a one off taster lesson and that was what swung it for me. I loved The Bass soon after my dad bought me a viola bass guitar (I shall write a review on it later on) they are lovely to hold play and are small which is good for me as I am also small too! Not only is he great at teaching bass but also music, I now play keyboard but still regularly watch his videos and listen to his music for inspiration and though he talks a lot about the bass the music tips he preaches are amazing and have defiantly changed my playing for the better. Even if you don't play the bass guitar I advise purchasing his videos and his books. There is much ground covered in his material that will help any musician of any level, beginner to advanced!

Victor Wooten grew up in a military family in which his older brothers all played and sang. He got to music early and started playing the bass guitar when he was three and was taught by Regi (his older sibling).
By the time victor wooten was 5 he was performing professionally with the Wooten Brothers Band, playing their way from Sacramento east and eventually opened concerts for Curtis Mayfield and War. The band also played at countless clubs in between. Victor was influenced by bass mentors, Stanley Clarke, Larry Graham and Bootsy Collins, while learning about the music business at a wildly accelerated pace.
The family eventually moved to Newport News, Virginia in the early eighties
The brothers became mainstays at 'Busch Gardens' theme park in Williamsburg nearby to their home, making numerous connections with musicians in Nashville and New York. Victor is the loving husband and devoted father of four and the bassist in their famed family band; the student in the martial art of Wing Chun and the nature survival skill of Tracking; the teacher of dozens of bass players at his acclaimed annual Bass & Nature camp; and the master magician.

With the Flecktones in full swing, Victor Wooten decided to set his sights on a solo career .He formed bass extreme with Lord Steve Bailey. He then released his critically-acclaimed solo debut, 'A Show Of Hands' and has now gone on to make the CD 'Palmystery' and the book 'A music lesson' Vic has made many masterpieces but my favourite albums by his are defiantly 'Ying Yang' and 'What Did He Say?' The songs on each of the albums are as great as Wooten himself, these albums are superb!

This is a very short track as; it is only 8 seconds long! It actually only features talking. However it is really quite effective as, it sets off the album with a whacky start that quickly leads onto the next song and entices the listener to, listen further. It's a short and punchy start that although is very quick sets of the album a treat.

Also a punchy start, this song also the name of the album (What did he say?) This album is upbeat and features a fast tempo; it is a very funky song. What I love about it is the bass that I think is being plucked and slapped so which, gives it its really funky feel hence, this track rates as a 7/10 for me.

More mellow than the others this track is a nice laid back number. The song is quite a funky number and uses a couple bass styles, drums and cymbals. I like this track because it is so relaxed; it's a good one to give a blast when you feel a little uptight as it is very easy to relax into its jazzy feel. This is one of my favourite tracks from this album because of it laid back tone. I would rate this 8/10

A very funky track that feels more improvised which gives it that more modern jazz feel. This song also features bass, drums, alto and tenor saxophone and a trumpet, which also contributes to it jazziness. The experimentation or improve feel in the song make it more interesting and enjoying to listen to. Although Cherokee has an improvised feel it all the instruments work and come together to make a good song. However this song is not one of my favourites from this album I would rate it around 6/ 10.

This is another quite mellow track and the song is like a story and takes the listener on a little journey. The song is about the racial and overall friction between different races and groups of people. The track may deal with a few taboos however the song is still able to retain its laid back feel of which, I like. The start and middle of the song has a kind of distant sound as if there are extracts from radio. I like the song and would rate it a 7 out of 10.

This song not only features victor on bass but also on cello, vocals and 'piano'. This song is also quite an odd song as features lines like 'The Loneliest Monk used chopsticks to eat ice cream' but, it's not only the words that make this song different but also the instruments and vocals. This song is quite nice though as, it has a story to tell and is interesting to listen too. I would rate this track a 7/10

This song features a more upbeat groove and bass slap. It is a great feel good song even though it is quite simple compared to the other track on the album. I like the song because of its funkiness and would rate this a 8/10 I think that this song proves that sometimes simple works best.

This song features Michael Kott and Matt Smith on vocals and as the song is called the track definitely has a radio feel. The interview on the song starts off pretty normal but then turns to a more musically groovy side. I like this little track and would rate it 5/10 even though it doesn't feature any instruments. It's like having a small interval between the tracks of which works quite well.