VICTOR WOOTEN — Yin-Yang (1999) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

There's little question that Victor Wooten is an ambitious musician. That was evident from his first two records, but Yin-Yang easily reaches farther than any album he has yet made. Spanning two discs, one instrumental and one vocal, Yin-Yang tries a little bit of everything, all underneath a smooth fusion umbrella. There's a bass showcases, worldbeat fusions, bluegrass jazz, smooth soulful jazz with banjos, full-fledged urban soul, songs based around baby gibberish -- a little bit of everything, all given immaculate, glossy production. That clean production not only makes the record sound accessible, but it makes the eclecticism and unpredictable stylistic fusions sound familiar. Depending on your point of view, that's either a good or a bad thing -- it either means Wooten is welcoming more listeners, or it means that it's not challenging. And that's the strange thing about Yin-Yang -- it's not particularly challenging, yet it is complex and difficult to digest in one sitting. That's largely because there's so much music on the record, but it's also because Wooten's ideas sound better when heard a few cuts at a time. He's a very talented musician and has some great ideas, but a little discipline and editing would make his records more convincing and compelling. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Disc 1 Yin (Instrumental)    45:40
1-1        Imagine This  5:08
Bass [2 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Bass [Fretless] – Steve Bailey
Drums – Kelly Gravely
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards, Piano [Acoustic] – Joseph Wooten
Percussion – Darrell Tibbs
Tenor Saxophone – Jeff Coffin
Written-By – V. Wooten
1-2        Yinin' & Yangin' (Instrumental) 4:36
Bass [3 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Drums, Programmed By – JD Blair
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Written-By – V. Wooten
1-3        Hip Bop 4:03
Bass [2 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Organ – Joseph Wooten
Saxophone – Rudy Wooten
Written-By – V. Wooten
1-4        Joe's Journey 5:20
Bass [2 Tracks], Guitar [Steel String], Cello – Victor Wooten
Cello – David Blazer, Michael Kott, Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Guitar [Nylon String] – Regi Wooten
Keyboards, Piano [Acoustic] – Joseph Wooten
Soprano Saxophone – Roger "Rock" Williams
Violin – Billy Contreras, Buddy Spicher
Written-By – V. Wooten
1-5        The Urban Turban 2:42
Bass [5 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Kirk Whalum
Written-By – V. Wooten
1-6        Tali Lama 5:17
Banjo – Tali Ovadia
Bass [2 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Djembe, Shaker – Jim Roberts
Drums – Kelly Gravely
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Percussion – Darrell Tibbs
Snare [Additional] – JD Blair
Vocals – Peter Rowan
Written-By – V. Wooten
1-7        Zenergy 6:46
Banjo – Béla Fleck
Bass [1 Track] – Victor Wooten
Drums – Carter Beauford
Fiddle – Stuart Duncan
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Tenor Saxophone – Jeff Coffin
Written-By – B. Fleck, V. Wooten
1-8        Kaila Speaks 3:00
Bass [Bass, Electric Upright Bass (2 Tracks)] – Victor Wooten
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Vocals – Kaila Wooten
Written-By – J. Wooten, V. Wooten
1-9        Sacred Place 3:46
Bass [3 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Percussion – Darrell Tibbs
Written-By – V. Wooten
1-10        Resolution 4:57
Bass [5 Tracks], Guitar – Victor Wooten
Cello – David Blazer, Michael Kott
Drums – Carter Beauford
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Violin – Billy Contreras
Violin, Viola – Buddy Spicher
Vocals – Kathy Chiavola
Written-By – V. Wooten
Disc 2 Yang (Vocal)    44:22
2-1        Hormones In The Headphones 4:06
Backing Vocals – Dobehi "Doobie" Lachaden, Michael Kott, Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards, Piano [Acoustic], Theremin – Joseph Wooten
Vocals, Bass [Bass & Acoustic Bass (8 Tracks)] – Victor Wooten
Written-By – Michael Kott
2-2        Yinin' & Yangin' (Vocal) 5:12
Backing Vocals – Andrea Pizzao, Jonathan Morse, Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Rap – Count Bass D
Vocals, Bass [1 Track] – Victor Wooten
Written-By – Dwight Farrell, JD Blair, J. Morse, V. Wooten
2-3        Kaila Raps 4:42
Bass [8 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Vocals – Kaila Wooten
Written-By – V. Wooten
2-4        One 4:54
Bass [4 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Joseph Wooten
Trumpet – Rod McGaha
Vocals – Allyson Taylor
Written-By – V. Wooten
2-5        What Crime Is It? 4:55
Bass, Vocals – Victor Wooten
Drums, Vocals [Additional] – JD Blair
Vocals – Bootsy Collins
Vocals [Additional] – Aseem Hetep, Park Law
Vocals, Bass [7 Tracks] – William "Oui-Wey" Collins
Written-By – Bootsy Collins, JD Blair, V. Wooten, William Collins
2-6        Go Girl Go 3:18
Backing Vocals – Michael Kott
Drums – Jennie Hoeft
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Vocals, Bass [1 Track] – Victor Wooten
Written-By – M. Kott
2-7        Pretty Little Lady 3:34
Backing Vocals – Dobehi "Doobie" Lachaden, Joseph Wooten, Mark "Zeke" Sellers, Michael Kott, Victor Wooten
Drums – Kelly Gravely
Guitar [Funky Wah Wah] – Regi Wooten
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten
Vocals, Bass [1 Track] – Victor Wooten
Written-By – V. Wooten
2-8        Hero 4:42
Bass [1 Track] – Victor Wooten
Drums – JD Blair
Guitar – Regi Wooten
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Joseph Wooten
Percussion – Darrell Tibbs
Tenor Saxophone – Kirk Whalum
Vocals – Tabitha Fair
Written-By – V. Wooten
2-9        Singing My Song 4:43
Backing Vocals – Dobehi "Doobie" Lachaden, Felicia Fett, Holly Wooten, Marci Chittwood
Drums – JD Blair
Vocals – Jonell Mosser
Vocals, Bass [3 Tracks] – Victor Wooten
Written-By – V. Wooten
2-10        Think About That 4:09
Bass [1 Track], Programmed By – Victor Wooten
Vocals – Dorothy Wooten
Written-By – V. Wooten

VICTOR WOOTEN — Palmystery (2008) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Victor Wooten makes it clear in the first few seconds of Palmystery that he's the man in charge. His spellbinding, acrobatic basslines take the lead, literally, and even when he's fulfilling the traditional role of the bassist (not that there's much about his virtuosic playing that's traditional) and shining the spotlight on his collaborators, he remains the focal point. Yet Wooten, the veteran bassist of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, is no showoff. Through mostly original compositions (the sole cover is Horace Silver's "Song for My Father") that glide easily between jazz fusion, world music, R&B, gospel, rock, and funk, through instrumental and vocal sections, improvisations and structured pieces, Wooten holds it all together -- it's nearly impossible not to listen to what he's doing with his instrument. Still, although the musicianship is never less than stellar throughout and always takes a front seat, this is not an indulgent record -- Wooten and his crew serve the songs, not vice versa, and they do so with panache. The leadoff track, "2 Timers," serves notice that this is going to be a fun listen, not a difficult one, despite the complexity often inherent: with one drummer playing in 3/4 time and the other in 4/4 (hence the title), Wooten alternately hands the reins over to violinist Eric Silver, a three-man horn section, harmonica ace Howard Levy, and brother Joseph Wooten on keyboards. Continual shifts of tempo, mood, and texture keep things lively and then, just in case it seems like this is how it might stay, the second track, the Arabian-flavored "Cambo," puts an entirely different spin on things. With lead and choired vocals by co-writer Amir Ali and Saundra Williams, Wooten lays down a solid rhythm over which brothers Joseph and guitarist Regi Wooten work out, along with Ali on violin, lute, and darbouka (an African hand drum). Each successive track expands the album's colorings: on "I Saw God," which features Richard Bona among its vocalists, Victor Wooten offers a non-religious person's impressions of his confrontation with a unisexual, philosophical, word-playing deity, while the flamenco-esque "The Lesson" pares down the cast to just Victor on bass and another Flecktone brother, Roy Wooten, supplying percussion. And so on throughout: "The Gospel" doubles up Wooten's fretted and fretless basses with ghostly vocals from the Woodard Family and a team of horns, and the Silver interpretation is spirited and swinging, with Karl Denson's tenor saxophone among the more notable solos on the record. "Us 2," the closing track, is also the quietest, Wooten laying low on basses and drum programming while Keb' Mo' peels off sleek slide guitar licks and Joseph Wooten lays down a bed of keyboards. "Sifu" utilizes Mike Stern's guitar. "Miss U," which features the Lee Boys on vocals, Roosevelt "The Doctor" Collier on pedal steel, and Alvin Lee (presumably not the Ten Years After guitarist) on guitar, is a gospelized, bluesy, soul-fried rave-up that gives Wooten a chance to show off his boogie power. Palmystery solidifies Victor Wooten's rep not only as one of the most skillful, inventive bassists on the planet but a heck of a diversified songwriter and bandleader, too. Jeff Tamarkin

Tracklist :
1    2 Timers 4:51
Harmonica – Howard Levy
Piano – Joseph Wooten
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
2    Cambo 5:25
Bass [Low] – Anthony Wellington
Written-By – Amir Ali, Victor L. Wooten
3    I Saw God 4:20
Vocals, Percussion – Richard Bona
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
4    The Lesson 5:55
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
5    Left, Right, & Center 7:11
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
6    Sifu 7:36
Bass – Regi Wooten
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
7    Miss U 4:33
Bass – Alvin "Lil' Al" Cordy
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
8    Flex 6:37
Bass [Thumb Solo] – Anthony "Flex" Wellington
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
9    The Gospel 6:40
Vocals – The Woodard Family
Written-By – Joseph Wooten, Victor L. Wooten
10    Song For My Father 5:10
Written-By – Horace Silver
11    Happy Song 4:23
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
12    Us 2 2:58
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
Personnel:
Alto Saxophone – Rudy Wooten (tracks: 9, 11), Shawn "Thunder" Wallace (tracks: 6)
Baritone Saxophone – Jeff Coffin (tracks: 9), Karl Denson (tracks: 10)
Bass – Victor Wooten
Drums – Dennis Chambers (tracks: 5), Derico Watson (tracks: 1 to 3, 8, 10), Earl "Big E" Walker (tracks: 7), JD Blair (tracks: 1, 5, 6), Raymond Massey (tracks: 11), Will Kennedy (tracks: 5, 9)
Guitar – Alvin Lee (tracks: 7), Mike Stern (tracks: 5, 6), Regi Wooten (tracks: 2, 8, 10, 11)
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten (tracks: 1 to 3, 6 to 9, 11, 12)
Tenor Saxophone – Jeff Coffin (tracks: 1, 9)
Trombone – Barry Green (tracks: 1, 9)
Trumpet – Rod McGaha (tracks: 1, 9)
Violin – Amir Ali (tracks: 2, 8)
Violin, Mandolin – Eric Silver (tracks: 1)
Vocals – Amir Ali (tracks: 2, 6), Saundra Williams (tracks: 2, 7)
Vocals [Low] – Alvin Chea (tracks: 6)