Back to the Bass-ics

Back in the dark ages of the 1970s, the bass guitar came of age in a new, splashy way. Thanks to virtuosos like Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pastorius and Larry Graham, bassists were liberated from a mere supportive role to new status as soloists and bandleaders.

The bassist-as-leader revolution didn’t lead to any major scene, however, and one has to wonder if the electric bassist has retreated to the back of the stage again.

But one bass-thumping hero who has made a name for himself in the public sphere lately is Victor Wooten.

In a real sense, it all began with a call from a banjo player. Soon after moving to Nashville from his native Virginia in the late ‘80s, Wooten came to the attention of banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck and went on to become the bassist for the Flecktones. The group, which continues to record and tour, enjoys a faithful following, mixing bluegrass, jazz, funk, folk, and touches of classical music and whatever else strikes its fancy.

Meanwhile, Wooten himself has built up an impressive solo career and was nominated for a Grammy in the Contemporary Jazz category for his double CD, “Yin Yang” (Compass).

On the album, Wooten strikes a happy balance between his dazzling instrumental prowess and his R&B-flavored; vocal interests, with generous nods to heroes like Sly and the Family Stone.

He also has three of his four bothers on the project (the fourth, Roy “Future Man” Wooten, is the drummer in the Flecktones). No doubt, many of his musical facets will be on display when Wooten brings his band to the Ventura Theatre on Sunday.

On the phone from his home in Nashville, Wooten spoke about the lineage he is a part of.

“There have been a lot of people, like Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke and Jaco, who have helped get people like me to where I am,” he said. “I’m just one of the guys carrying the torch for the next guy. The public is just looking to hear good music. I don’t think they’re concerned whether it’s the bass player playing the melody or a sax or whatever.”

In the Flecktones--who recently released a greatest hits album on Warner Bros. and are working on a new album--diversity is the natural order of things.

“We’ve all brought our past influences to the group,” Wooten said. “We just did exactly what we wanted to do, rather than saying ‘this music needs to be in this slot.’ We just played and said ‘there it is.’ Bela allowed us all to be ourselves, and he has to, because he knows that the band wouldn’t be the band that it is if he were to dictate what we should play. That’s the beauty of the Flecktones.”

Wooten will continue to make albums that are everything but predictable, a personal approach that he also sees as a healthy sign of the times. “You take any person who turns on the TV or the radio--they’re always switching stations. Why is that? It’s because they want variety. So why do we make records that all sound the same? I’m not being critical of anything. It just seems that if you just watch what you do or what the public does, it doesn’t work. You want variety in your life.”

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DETAILS

Victor Wooten, 8 p.m. Sunday at the Ventura Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut, Ventura, $15, 653-0118.

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Chamber Musical Preamble: Because of his dynamic music-making and easygoing charisma as part of the last two installments of the much-admired Ventura Chamber Music Festival, the twentysomething violinist Corey Cerovsek has become something of an honorary local hero in these parts.

The Chamber Music Festival doesn’t unfold until May, but Cerovsek will be in town tonight for a special recital at the Church of Religious Science with his sister, pianist Katja Cerovsek. It will be a fund-raiser for the festival, clearly one of the better causes in Ventura’s cultural community.

At the tender age of 27, Corey Cerovsek is still young enough to be considered a special brand of wunderkind. Vancouver-born and raised, he made his New York debut at 21 and has performed with symphonies from around the world. To boot, he also plays a mean piano, and, on the academic front, holds doctorates in both music and mathematics.

But that’s all just back story. As Cerovsek has shown in local appearances, what he exudes from the stage is bold musicianship and an unpretentious presence.

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DETAILS

Corey Cerovsek, 8 tonight at the Church of Religious Science, 101 S. Laurel St., Ventura. Tickets are $39; 648-3146.

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Making History: A bit of history was made last week when Vinny Golia’s Large Ensemble filled--and we do mean filled--the stage of the Ventura High School theater (a venue that really should be pressed into extracurricular cultural service more often).

It wasn’t only that this marked the group’s Ventura debut, but the fact that Golia’s ensemble is reaching a creative peak after 18 years, breathing new and vital life into the idea that a group that combines the values of an avant-jazz big band, contemporary classical music and uncharted improvisational turf can work.

As the conceptual architect, Golia likes to distance himself from the jazz definition in favor of an identity as an improvising chamber orchestra. But jazz elements are firmly in place, from the range of rhythmic pulses to the palettes of many of its soloists.

Golia is a dynamic soloist, but he passed on an opportunity to feature himself in this situation, offering the space to his players instead.

The thought of multiple soloists spread over a three-hour concert might seem wearing, were it not for the great variety of personal approaches among the improvisers.

Some, like cellist Guinivere Mischam and violinist Harry Scorzo, focused on timbral manipulations instead of linear journeys, coaxing painterly overtones instead of riffs or sheets of sound.

Antic tuba player Bill Roper provided early comic relief, stomping up and down the aisles during his turn, while alto saxist Kim Richmond played one of the more seamless solos, in an Oliver Nelson-meets-Eric Dolphy mode.

There was great expressive power in the trombone section, too, between Bruce Fowler and Mike Vlatkovich. And John Fumo and Glen Whiteread offered two diverse but equally impressive variations on the trumpet.

Guitarist Nels Cline joined the stage for a tribute to the late bassist Eric Von Essen, who once played in the Oregon-like quartet known as Acoustic Music with Cline, drummer Alex Cline and violinist Jeff Gauthier (both are also in the Large Ensemble).

Fittingly, the guitarist wielded both acoustic and electric guitars, mixing up dissonance, lyricism and rock-tinged mayhem, replete with feedback and manic strumming.

With its expanded lineup--now at 30 musicians--and a broader mix of horns, strings and double reeds, this ensemble has become one of the West Coast’s most exciting ventures to the left end of standard musical practice.

To hear it in the neighborhood was a delicious, subversive treat. It was also one enjoyed by a sizable and curious crowd, defying the idea that new music appeals only to a handful of listeners.

Josef Woodard, who writes about art and music, can be reached by e-mail at joeinfo@aol.com