The Wooten Brothers Offer Dazzling Tribute, Celebration

The Wooten Brothers are a Nashville institution, virtuoso musicians and superb, charismatic entertainers. Thursday night's marvelous concert at Riverside Revival reaffirmed throughout the group's two powerhouse sets and encore just how special they are as a family ensemble whose idiomatic range encompasses almost every conceivable strain of American popular music.

There were aspects of funk, soul, pop, rock, jazz and even reggae incorporated throughout Thursday's performance. Of course, their individual résumés are full of eclectic projects: Bassist Victor Wooten and drummer/electronic percussionist Roy “FutureMan” Wooten are longtime members of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones; keyboardist Joseph Wooten has been a member of the Steve Miller Band for three decades; and guitarist Regi Wooten, the eldest and nicknamed "The Teacher," played with former Cream drummer Ginger Baker.

The night also featured some special thematic elements. One was familial, as this stop was part of the Wootens' first national tour in 13 years, and designed to honor their deceased brother, outstanding saxophonist Rudy, who died in 2013. There was a portion of the second set dedicated to him. A video display frequently featured footage of Rudy either playing two saxes at once (alto and C-melody) or performing with his brothers. Both Victor and Joseph also addressed the unifying nature of music, and their desire to disprove the notion that there's so much division in contemporary American society it's impossible to rally people around anything at any time. "They say we're so divided," said Joseph. "Well let's show them that's not true." Near the end of the show, Victor thanked the packed and diverse crowd for coming, noting that the audience spanned the gamut demographically, and citing it as evidence it is still possible to rally people around great music and a common cause.

The fact that each Wooten is a musical master was evident during each member's showcase moments. Whether it was Victor dazzling with fiery electric bass solos, Regi delivering dynamic, flashy guitar solos, Joseph dipping into jazz-based territory with harmonically rich, melodically striking keyboard solos and accompaniment, or FutureMan brilliantly anchoring things mostly on drums (aside from one late foray on one of his trademark inventions, the electronic percussion instrument the Synth-Axe Drumitar), every Wooten got prime solo space. Joseph also displayed his vocal skills with a medley that blended "My Cherie Amour," "Someday We'll All Be Free," "Your Song" and spoken-word references to The Wizard of Oz.

Still, The Wooten Brothers are first and foremost a great group, and many of the night's finest moments came during collective and ensemble segments. Whether it was the exuberant opener "W-Double-O-10," the adventurous compositions "Consuela Smiles" and "John Coltrane," or the trio of numbers they did from their early combo days in the ’70s during the second set commemoration of Rudy — "Let's Dance," "Get Down With Me," "Singing and Dancing and Clapping and Playing (That's What We Like to Do)" — the Wootens played with flamboyance and edge while clearly having a great time onstage. They continually enticed the packed house to sing along and join the celebration. 

The finale was an exuberant, energetic performance of their current single "Sweat," punctuated by Regi's crackling guitar, Victor's splendid accompanying bass, Joseph's crisp chords and refrains, and Roy's mighty drum support. As evidence of how great a time they were having, after providing more than two-and-a-half hours of great music and earning multiple loud standing ovations, the Wootens returned to the stage and capped the night with a bombastic mash-up of James Brown's "Sex Machine" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)." It was the ideal wrap to a memorable and delightful evening of superb music and fabulous performances.