Victor Wooten
作为格莱美奖获奖者“Bela Fleck and the Flecktones”乐队的成员,Victor的演奏使他获得了世界上贝司手和乐迷们的崇敬。1999年,他在Nashville音乐大奖中被授予“年度贝司手”的称号(已经是第二次了)。1998年,他第三次收到Bass Player Magazine颁发给他的“年度贝司手奖”(他是唯一一个获得此奖项超过一次的贝司手),并被此杂志指为“90年代十大贝司改革者”之一。同样是1998年,Victor 获得了他的第二个格莱美奖(最佳器乐作品,The Flecktones专辑Left of Cool里几乎12首作品),Down Beat 杂志推选他为“最值得公认的天才”。这是一个非常好的年份。 在Yin Yang——他的第三张独奏专辑里,Victor再次证明了他作为电贝司大师的资格。贯穿整张专辑,Victor 印着他独有标记的技巧震撼了所有人,所有这些特别之处并不妨碍他对于groove的本原的感觉。和许多包括 Kirk Whalum, Bootsy Collins, Peter Rowan, Steve Bailey, Count Bass D, Bela Fleck, Carter Beauford, Jeff Coffin, Rod McGaha, J.D. Blair, Stuart Duncan and The Wooten Brothers等嘉宾音乐家一起,Wooten 在作品的创意方面作出了惊人的音乐贡献。 Victor 首先会告诉你在他周围影响他的独奏的是什么。“我的兄弟和双亲是基础,”他说。“他们教我保持开放的心态并且学会适应,他们以这样的方式为我准备好一切。在音乐方面,就是说不要僵化,不一定要用某一种固定的方式演奏。” Victor 生长在一个军人家庭,他是五兄弟中最小的一个。他的哥哥们都能弹能唱,他3岁时,他最大的哥哥Regi 就教他弹贝司。 Victor 把他音乐方面的开放观念归结于这个很小的时候的开端。“当你年纪大了,你会比较犹豫去尝试一些事情,因为你会害怕它可能会错或者导致出错。而你是小孩子就没有问题。那时,我们总是想方设法试着“复制”我们从唱片上听到的东西。我学歌的时候是听唱片,一次学一个音符,反复地移动唱针来重复地听。玩贝司对于我来说就像学讲话一样。它就像我使用的另一种语言。” Victor 五岁就和“The Wooten Brothers Band”一起登台演出,开始他的职业生涯。这个五兄弟乐队后来还为“Curtis Mayfield and War”做暖场嘉宾,随他们进行巡演。 他们在维吉尼亚洲威廉斯堡的Busch Gardens 主题公园也花了数年时间玩音乐和磨练自己的技巧。这些经验为他的音乐成长赋予了他有价值的训练基础和工具。 “我8岁的时候,我们就把自己当作经验丰富的职业音乐人了。我们的常规是:起床,上学,回家做功课,歇一会,然后从晚上10点练习到凌晨2点。在很多地方我们甚至不能离开舞台因为这些地方卖酒精饮品而我们还小。那时一个很好的成长时期,因为现在你可以用采样机和音序器复制任何东西,而那时我们只能用我们现有的东西寻找方法把我们在唱片上听到的东西现场弹出来。” 1988年,Victor 移居到Nashville 并立即被蓝调和灵歌手Jonell Mosser招到旗下。接下来的几年,他加入了“新草根复兴”(New Grass Revival)的班卓琴之王 Bela Fleck的团队,Bela Fleck 雇佣他和他的哥哥——那时叫“未来人”——为一个特别的电视节目《孤独渴望》担任爵士乐队。两兄弟负责节奏部分,Howard Levy 负责键盘和口琴,Flecktones乐队就这样诞生了。 在Levy 1992年末离开以后,Flecktones乐队继续以三重奏加邀请嘉宾乐手演出。他们是:Branford Marsalis,Paul McCandless,Bruce Horn--y,Grover Washington Jr.,钢鼓手 Andy Narell,以及 Chick Corea。1998年,萨克斯风手Jeff Coffin加入了乐队,不久,索尼/哥伦比亚公司就为Flecktones乐队发行了“OUTBOUND”专辑,在这张唱片里,嘉宾艺人的阵容非常强大,包括歌手Shawn Colvin和 Jon Anderson ,guitarist Adrian Belew,双簧管演奏家 Paul McCandless,和键盘手 John Medeski(爵士即兴乐队Medeski,Martin & Wood的成员)。 Victor 历数了很多对他有过很大影响的贝司手——从Bootsy Collins,Larry Graham 到Stanley Clarke,从Motown时代的 James Jamerson 到 Jaco Pastorius——“说来说去就是‘音乐’两个字,贝司只是我玩音乐的方式而已。” Victor还写过一本书名叫《音乐课》(The music lesson),这本书影响了很多位音乐大师,这本书不止讲了音乐的真谛,还谈到了人生的真谛。
Bassist Victor Wooten began his musical career early. At age three, his brother Regi taught him to play bass, and at age five he made his stage debut with his four older brothers in the Wootens, playing songs by R&B mainstays like James Brown, Sly & the Family Stone, War, and Curtis Mayfield. After playing regional tours and opening for acts like Mayfield and War, the Wootens recorded an album in 1985. However, the record received little commercial or critical response, and eventually the Wooten Brothers found other gigs. By 1988, Victor Wooten moved to Nashville to join a rock band, and the following year met Béla Fleck, the banjo player for New Grass Revival. Fleck was forming a jazz group to appear on a TV show; he recruited Wooten, his brother Roy on drums, and Howard Levy on keyboards and harmonica. As the Flecktones, the group earned numerous accolades, including four Grammy nominations and a number one album on the jazz charts.
As the '90s progressed, Wooten added a solo recording career and numerous collaborations to his duties in the Flecktones. Along with solo albums like 1996's A Show of Hands and the following year's What Did He Say?, Wooten contributed to albums by friends like David Grier, Paul Brady, and Branford Marsalis' Buckshot LeFonque. His third solo album, Yin-Yang, which featured appearances by Fleck, Bootsy Collins, and the Wooten Brothers, was released in 1999. Live in America from 2001 documented four years on the road in a double-disc package. After tours with the Flecktones and a 2001 release/tour with the group Bass Extremes, Wooten returned to his solo career in 2005 with the album Soul Circus. Released in 2008, Palmystery included turns by violinist Eric Silver and harmonica player Howard Levy.
Bassist Victor Wooten began his musical career early. At age three, his brother Regi taught him to play bass, and at age five he made his stage debut with his four older brothers in the Wootens, playing songs by R&B mainstays like James Brown, Sly & the Family Stone, War, and Curtis Mayfield. After playing regional tours and opening for acts like Mayfield and War, the Wootens recorded an album in 1985. However, the record received little commercial or critical response, and eventually the Wooten Brothers found other gigs. By 1988, Victor Wooten moved to Nashville to join a rock band, and the following year met Béla Fleck, the banjo player for New Grass Revival. Fleck was forming a jazz group to appear on a TV show; he recruited Wooten, his brother Roy on drums, and Howard Levy on keyboards and harmonica. As the Flecktones, the group earned numerous accolades, including four Grammy nominations and a number one album on the jazz charts.
As the '90s progressed, Wooten added a solo recording career and numerous collaborations to his duties in the Flecktones. Along with solo albums like 1996's A Show of Hands and the following year's What Did He Say?, Wooten contributed to albums by friends like David Grier, Paul Brady, and Branford Marsalis' Buckshot LeFonque. His third solo album, Yin-Yang, which featured appearances by Fleck, Bootsy Collins, and the Wooten Brothers, was released in 1999. Live in America from 2001 documented four years on the road in a double-disc package. After tours with the Flecktones and a 2001 release/tour with the group Bass Extremes, Wooten returned to his solo career in 2005 with the album Soul Circus. Released in 2008, Palmystery included turns by violinist Eric Silver and harmonica player Howard Levy.
하나의