• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

How could anyone not like Victor Wooten?

#61
Victor Wooten is the the only great bassist that I havent find a song that I like, everytime I search for something of him in youtube the only thing that I get are videos of him playing solos, many time by himself and nobody else.

There are alot of pieces from Marcus, Jaco, Stanley Clark etc. that I enjoy but because the bass is a just another instrument in the band. I still have hope to find something that I like from him, if somebody can share some information where I can find something where Vic is playing a supportive role will be aprecciated.
 
#62
pedroims said:
Victor Wooten is the the only great bassist that I havent find a song that I like, everytime I search for something of him in youtube the only thing that I get are videos of him playing solos, many time by himself and nobody else.

There are alot of pieces from Marcus, Jaco, Stanley Clark etc. that I enjoy but because the bass is a just another instrument in the band. I still have hope to find something that I like from him, if somebody can share some information where I can find something where Vic is playing a supportive role will be aprecciated.
Click to expand...


Try Big Country by Bella Fleck and the Flecktones
 
#64
jallenbass said:
Could someone post a clip of Victor's "gratuitous wanking"? I truly would like to understand this.
Click to expand...

Gratuitous Wanking is when someone plays more notes that the person using that term. It has more to do with the listener than the player.

I'm not saying that everyone needs to like everything that's being played, but the total lack of respect some of those that worship at the alter of the root/5th show is really sad. :rollno:
 
#65
I've never met him so I can't really say if I like him or not, but he certainly seems like a good human being. I read The Music Lesson and it didn't really do much for me. Like many others here, his music mostly leaves me cold, but I have tremendous respect for his technical prowess. Personal taste is just that, personal, so it's neither here nor there whether you or I or anyone else 'likes' him or not. I would argue, however, that his abilities and dedication certainly demand respect.
 
#66
I just got a new phone. I went through the arduous process of putting my music on it and I left out all the Wooten stuff I've bought over the years. He seems like a really nice guy, but I've come to realize I don't like his music.
 
#67
Vic is a great human being and wonderful musician. Sadly, too many cats have skipped the meat and potatoes and put his flash to use in all of the wrong places.

Taste is subjective- I'm very fortunate that I stopped wasting time playing his hot licks back in 1998 and have focused on being a well rounded player.

I've met Vic twice- the first time he held up a sound check for 45 minutes talking about martial arts, yoga, and agriculture. He was so cool I completely forgot he was my bass hero and he seemed more interested in me raising beef cattle than anything else in the world. What we see reflected in his playing may be the function of a man who listens on a much deeper level than 99% of humanity.

I will happily hand him a $100 bill but I haven't bought an album since "show of hands"- I knew I was going down a slippery slope...
 
#68
pedroims said:
I still have hope to find something that I like from him, if somebody can share some information where I can find something where Vic is playing a supportive role will be aprecciated.
Click to expand...

Try "Beaver Patrol" from The Word Is Out! (Jaco Pastorius Big Band); it's an odd time groove...Wooten is the bassist on that specific track.
 
#70
jallenbass said:
Could someone post a clip of Victor's "gratuitous wanking"? I truly would like to understand this.
Click to expand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7oCm-hZawQ

I've got mad respect for the guy, he's obviously very talented, and seems to be genuine in character. I bought all of his solo albums when I first started playing bass, but my fascination with him was on more of a technical level than actually enjoying the music.
 
#72
lfmn16 said:
Gratuitous Wanking is when someone plays more notes that the person using that term. It has more to do with the listener than the player.

I'm not saying that everyone needs to like everything that's being played, but the total lack of respect some of those that worship at the alter of the root/5th show is really sad.
Click to expand...

Well, I won't disagree that the definition of -- or at least the threshold for -- "gratuitous wanking" has a lot more to do with the observer than the practitioner. But to my mind (and ear) it's not so much about the number of notes (or number-of-notes-per-second) as it is about the relevence of those notes to the material.

There are a number of astoundingly facile chops-intensive bassists who can play passages of jaw-dropping note density and still have those passages be musically informed in a harmonic, melodic, motific, and/or poetic sense.

A very small number.

There are a far greater number of astoundingly facile chops-intensive bassists who can play passages of jaw-dropping note density where at best they're acting as a percussion instrument, and at worst they're just showing off some nifty technique they practiced that has nothing to do with teh song they're playing. Those are the ones I consider "gratuitous wankers".
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wizzu
#73
Seems like a cool dude, but I can't reach the off button fast enough when he comes on. All personal preference and it still amazes me how offended people get when you don't agree with them. "He's just better than you and you can't handle it" argument appears on these threads about Jaco, Wooten, etc. Personally I can't handle wanking on a guitar let a lone a bass.
 
#74
Roscoe East said:
There are a far greater number of astoundingly facile chops-intensive bassists who can play passages of jaw-dropping note density where at best they're acting as a percussion instrument, and at worst they're just showing off some nifty technique they practiced that has nothing to do with teh song they're playing. Those are the ones I consider "gratuitous wankers".
Click to expand...
This whole thread reminds me of Amadeus.

From the movie "Amadeus"

EMPEROR: Well, Herr Mozart! A good effort. Decidedly that. An excellent effort! You've shown us something quite new today.

[Mozart bows frantically: he is over-excited.]

MOZART: It is new, it is, isn't it, Sire?

EMPEROR: Yes, indeed.

MOZART: So then you like it? You really like it, Your Majesty?

EMPEROR: Of course I do. It's very good. Of course now and then - just now and then - it gets a touch elaborate.

MOZART: What do you mean, Sire?

EMPEROR: Well, I mean occasionally it seems to have, how shall one say? [he stops in difficulty; turning to Orsini-Rosenberg] How shall one say, Director?

ORSINI-ROSENBERG: Too many notes, Your Majesty?

EMPEROR: Exactly. Very well put. Too many notes.

MOZART: I don't understand. There are just as many notes, Majesty, as are required. Neither more nor less.

EMPEROR: My dear fellow, there are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in the course of an evening. I think I'm right in saying that, aren't I, Court Composer?

SALIERI: Yes! yes! er, on the whole, yes, Majesty.

MOZART: But this is absurd!

EMPEROR: My dear, young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Cut a few and it will be perfect.

MOZART: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?

EMPEROR: Well. There it is.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bob_Ross
#75
Any player that brings bass to the front and to the mainstream audience as a player deserves the respect of our community. Also, he sounds great. His technique is great, and thankfully, he's at the point in his career where he can share the mentality that shaped his ability in an uninhibited way. IMO

:D
 
#77
For most people it will boil down to tone and style. I think he's got an amazingly fresh and organic perspective on bass playing in general. I can say that his philosophy on the instrument has influenced me, not so much his playing style though. Great guy!
 
#78
Luke19Boarder said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7oCm-hZawQ

I've got mad respect for the guy, he's obviously very talented, and seems to be genuine in character. I bought all of his solo albums when I first started playing bass, but my fascination with him was on more of a technical level than actually enjoying the music.
Click to expand...

That clip is an example of a theme and variations which has been used in classical music for a few hundred years. It has melody and harmony and a variety of was to play it. My former career as a symphony bassist has definitely formed what I hear as music. To me that's not gratuitous wanking. That's music.
 
#79
He comes off like a really really nice guy
and is clearly one of the most talented players to ever pick up the instrument
and I just straight-up love his solos and grooves in the Flecktones

but his solo albums contain some of the most cringe-inducing songwriting I've ever heard....and I somewhat enjoyed "The Music Lesson" but the zen-and-the-art style metaphysical philosophy gave me so much eyeroll my vision still hasn't recovered
 
#80
jallenbass said:
My former career as a symphony bassist has definitely formed what I hear as music.
Click to expand...
Your career would have been quickly ended if you played a piece with such a lack of accuracy. You'd have been told to go home and practice on regularity, dynamics and articulation.
This piece is exactly the kind of stuff I'm talking about, craming more notes into a phrase than even him can play.
I have no taste for this, which is fine. Others love it, which is fine too.
We need more Wootens anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wizzu

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back