Five-time Grammy winner Victor Wooten brings his virtuoso bass playing to the Howlin’ Wolf Wednesday, October 3 on a bill with the promising local funk jazz sextet Naughty Professor. Wooten, best known for his work with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Stanley Clarke and Dave Matthews, has just dropped a pair of CDs on his own label, VIX Records, and will feature material from each album.

Victor Wooten plays the Howlin’ Wolf Wednesday. Photo: Steve Parker

Words and Tones is a collection of 14 tracks (12 new originals and 2 cover songs) featuring female vocalists. Though six different vocalists appear on the album, Krystal Peterson handles all the vocal chores in the touring ensemble. Sword & Stone is an instrumental CD that showcases the different sides of Wooten’s approach to music, performance and songwriting.

Both recordings were produced, engineered and mixed by Wooten primarily at Vix Mix Studios in Nashville. On both CDs, Wooten contributes a variety of fretless and acoustic bass guitars, cello, keyboards, percussion, string arrangements, and vocals, as well as the astonishingly complex bass solos that define his sound.

Wooten comments, “There’s something for everyone – music and messages for every age. I wrote about what was on my mind and in my heart. If the listener wants to learn, be entertained, or just casually listen, it’s all available on these two CDs. Just figuring out the significance behind the two titles may be enough to make one smile.”

Naughty Professor has been tearing it up at Tip’s and the Maison recently and the tight unit, featuring a trumpet, alto and tenor saxophone front line, should set things up well for Wooten.

Head over to Howlin’ Wolf’s website for tickets to Wednesday’s show, which begins at 9 p.m. (doors are 8). Tickets are $20. Have a watch/listen below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz8qHxsKu6A

Howlin’ Wolf is located at 907 South Peters Street.