Victor Wooten at GD Birla Sabhagar on Wednesday. Picture by Aranya Sen

Could Calcutta top the Carlock-Krantz-Lefebvre gig this season? Yes she could. Could Calcutta steal a hot show scheduled to go to Delhi? Yes she could. Could young Calcuttans arrive in strength to bolster the city’s reputation as musically knowledgeable to her guests? Yes they could. Could Calcuttans fill the hall despite KKR swinging away the same evening at Eden Gardens? Yes they could.

l these wishes came true when Victor Wooten starred as the celebrity faculty for Swarnabhumi Academy of Music, Chennai, at GD Birla Sabhagar on April 7. When you have the rare privilege of listening to one of the finest artists in the world on his instrument (the electric bass), you can immediately tell the difference from your average night out. No surprise that no band has received so many standing ovations throughout a concert in recent memory.

I first heard Wooten on Branford Marsalis’ one-off 1994 project, Buckshot LeFonque, released without crediting any overall creator, so that people thought it was by a new outfit named Buckshot LeFonque. Marsalis took us for a merry ride through American popular music from Dixieland jazz to DJ samples, highlighting its eclecticism. No wonder he recruited Wooten, a founder-member of another great genre-bending band, Bela Fleck and The Flecktones. Funnily enough, Wooten contributed to the track No Pain, No Gain — that encouraging road sign familiar to us, perhaps prophetically anticipating his present connection to India! With the Flecktones, of course, he became famous; as on Outbound (2000), the album I consider their best.

But to hear him live was entirely another experience, supported by an Indian unit: Prasanna (lead guitar), S. Karthik (ghatam) and Bangalore Amrit (kanjira, the south Indian tambourine). Two guitarists against two percussionists produced a very unusual sound. They interpreted Prasanna’s compositions, except for Wooten’s fascinating post-interval one-man show. Wooten warmed up on Eradicalize in his original way, tapping on the wood of his bass to extract resonance.

Next, on Garuda, he played the melodic line. Raga Bop proved spectacular, as Prasanna and Wooten entered into conversation, reminding me of various species of mynahs when they congregate for an important conference. Both tapped their axes double-handed like keyboards as their birdcall debate became increasingly heated. Taka-takita Blues switched into train-chugging groove, and Iguana On A Funky Trail (from Prasanna’s tribute to Hendrix) found Wooten moving from tremolo to a high-voltage duet with Karthik.

After the break, Wooten displayed why he’s in a different league, wielding the bass not as accompanying, but as complete instrument, fused with it virtually like a fifth limb of his body. Astoundingly, he delivered rhythm and melody together, hit the strings hard with his thumb, used sliding and clapping techniques, flirted with Hollywood theme tunes, and ended with Amazing Grace in a soulful gospel vein to pindrop silence punctuated by awestruck spontaneous “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd.

Extended solos from everyone followed as the band returned with Kalyani Connection and 31, Prasanna’s guitar hybridising Carnatic classical into what I can only describe as Carnatrock. But his habit of musical quotation, from Smoke On The Water to Aqualung (or Norwegian Wood earlier) sounded unnecessary, going to the extreme of Pink Panther on Amrit’s kanjira.

However, Karthik got the spirit of humour right by playfully copying Wooten’s style, even the letting go of his arms, on the ghatam, then trying to trip us off-tempo in his scintillating solo. Unfortunately, the number of rock quotes went totally overboard on the final encore.

But that’s a minor complaint. As the much-impressed college-going bassist of the young band Rift Valley said, “Wooten has made me realise that I can make my guitar talk, in language, without the instrument becoming a barrier between you and me. It has to come out freely, like a vocalist.”

A big bass hurrah to Congo Square for bringing to Calcutta a bass artist in the lineage of Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke and Christian McBride.

The author teaches English at Jadavpur University

Wooten at the workshop. Picture by Rashbehari Das

MASTER CLASS

Victor Wooten held court at GD Birla Sabhagar on Wednesday with a three-hour workshop before proceeding to wow the Calcutta audience at the evening’s concert. The workshop, presented by the Swarnabhumi Academy of Music, Chennai, along with Congo Square, offered an opportunity for city musicians to interact with Victor, a contemporary master known for his unique approach to the bass.

The Tennessee-based bassist spoke to the gathering of about 100 musicians through his four-string Fodera bass, playing groove after danceable groove. “Just because it’s Victor Wooten speaking, don’t take my words as the gospel truth,” said the multiple Grammy Award-winner.

The workshop wasn’t about blistering technique, something that Victor is also known for. Rather, it was about a philosophy of approaching music, and getting rid of a few stereotypes about making music.

The co-founder of the seminal bluegrass/jazz-fusion band Bela Fleck and The Flecktones was asked a variety of questions, ranging from how to relax on stage (“just breathe”) and how he manages to play with musicians from a wide range of styles (“I rely on my 43 years of experience in playing music”). But Victor’s emphasis was on retaining individuality. When a youngster told him that Victor was his “god” and all he wanted to do was play like Victor, the 46-year-old said that he was “flattered”, but added, “Never make me your goal; I am always changing, you will never reach your goal that way!”

Victor was also patient with questions regarding technique, but the man with the legendary ‘double thumb’ technique recommended keeping it simple, saying that technical proficiency impressed “only other bass players, and they are not hiring you!” Musicians are so used to playing the “right” things that they do not leave room for mistakes, he warned. Most musicians freeze when they make a mistake, but “95 per cent of the audience has no clue that you just made a mistake”.

The workshop ended with a jam by Victor with guitarist Vikramjit “Tuki” Banerjee, drummers Sambit Chatterjee and Gaurab Chatterjee, vocalist Sayak Bandyopadhyay, flautist Kallol Das and others.