Two of the worlds premier bassists, Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey of Bass Extremes, recently released a new album. S’Low Down, their third album and their first in 20 years, was released on August 26th.
The bass duo, with the addition of Derico Watson on drums, are in the middle of a massive tour in support of their new album. The nationwide tour will conclude on November 20 in Boulder, CO; a full schedule is provided below, and tickets are available online.
Before the album’s release, the duo posted videos for two songs: “Home Bass,” which features Ron Carter, Marcus Miller, and John Patitucci; and “Just-in Time,” a big, gnarly groove that features Tool’s Justin Chancellor.
Ron Carter, Bootsy Collins, Marcus Miller, Oteil Burbridge, Justin Chancellor, Linda Oh, Edgar Meyer, John Patitucci, Billy Sheehan, Joe Dart, are some of the great performers that are included on the 10-track CD. Other supporting musicians on the album include, Béla Fleck on bass banjo, Mike Stern on a 6-string bass, Howard Levy plays bass harmonica, and Jeff Coffin, a member of the Dave Matthews Band, plays bass clarinet and bass flute.
As is customary for Bass Extremes, the music was composed by Bailey and Wooten, who each served as a bassist, composer, sound engineer, and producer. Studio sessions took place over the course of 18 months in studios in Myrtle Beach, Nashville, and Boston.
The album’s title holds the secret to the premise of the song. The first of the two dual meanings is obvious; this album is about the bass’s “Low Down,” while the “S’Low Down” offers more profound interpretations. Wooten explains, “As you grow older and wiser, you learn how to express more with less. We frequently tell our students to “slow down.”
“For most musicians, including myself, you spend the first portion of your career showing what you can play and trying to innovate and get it out there,” says Bailey in agreement. This CD epitomizes the phrase “been there, done that” for me. The question now is how little we can contribute to the music while still making it function. How to go quicker while moving more slowly.
Bass Extremes, a group that was founded in 1992, created a unique hybrid of a music CD, a learning tool, and a concert DVD. Pushing the “limits” of what a 4-string fretted and 6-string fretless bass are capable of. This innovative effort, which proposed that a band consisting of two bassists and a drummer, transformed the course of bass and its community.
With two groundbreaking albums—CookBook (1998) and Just Add Water (2001)—to their credit, their original Bass Extremes became one of the best-selling bass instructional products of all time and launched a cottage industry that allowed the two to work as both performers and educators at shows, industry events, clinics, universities, and concerts around the world.
They also developed their well-known and ongoing “Bass Camps” as well as the cutting-edge learning web experience, thebassvault.com. They assisted in bringing Berklee College of Music to previously unheard-of Highs and Unprecedented Lows as Chair of the Bass Department (Bailey) and Performance Scholar in Residence (Wooten).
Bass Extremes Tour Dates:
August 28 – The Egg – Lewis A. Sawyer Theatre – Albany, NY
August 30 – State Theatre of State College – State College, PA
August 31 – Center for the Arts of Homer – Homer, NY
September 1 – Sherman Theater – Stroudsburg, PA
September 2 – Flying Monkey – Plymouth, NH
September 3 – Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club – Portsmouth, NH
September 4 – Higher Ground Ballroom – South Burlington, VT
September 6 – Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH
September 30 – Hillberry Music Festival – Eureka Springs, AR
October 1 – The Grandel – St. Louis, MO
October 3 – Mars Music Hall – Huntsville, AL
October 4 – Miller Theater – Augusta, GA
October 5 – Ponte Verda Concert Hall – Ponte Vedra, FL
October 6 – The Key West Theater – Key West, FL
October 7 – Culture Room – Fort Lauderdale, FL
October 8 – Circle Theater – Sebring, FL
October 9 – Capitol Theatre – Clearwater, FL
October 11 – Hargray Capitol Theatre – Macon, GA
October 13 – Last Concert Café – Houston, TX
October 14 – Granada Theater – Dallas, TX
October 15 – UTOPIAfest 2022 – Burnet, TX
October 16 – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
November 9 – City Winery – Boston, MA
November 11 – Waldo Theatre – Waldoboro, ME
November 12 – BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity – Northampton, MA
November 17 – Armory Event Center – Fort Collins, CO
November 18 –Lulu’s Downstairs – Manitou Springs, CO
November 19 – Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom – Denver, CO
November 20 – Boulder Theater – Boulder, CO
