By: David Schultz

Over the past decade, Keller Williams has carved himself a nifty little niche as an incredibly creative and inventive live performer. On Dream, his ninth studio album, the man affectionately referred to as the one-man jamband doesn't try to go it alone, choosing to get by with a little help from his friends, including the String Cheese Incident, Bob Weir, Bela Fleck and Victor Wooten. Williams' penchant for looping machines and rotating between various instruments loses it appeal without the accompanying visual. Wisely, Williams doesn't even try to bring his stage show into the studio, working hard to create songs that can stand on their own without the use of any gimmickry.

On stage, Williams showcases his ingenuity, on Dream, Williams features his guitar proficiency, matching licks with banjo great Bela Fleck on "People Watchin,'" and guitar academician Fareed Haque on "Cookies." Williams works in a few of his customary guitar rolls that coast up and down the scale, but also stretches his guitar work to match prodigious masters like Haque, Charlie Hunter and Steve Kimock. His guitar makes up for his limited vocal range, which on past albums tends to manifest itself in a hushed monotone. Although he reverts to the style on "Celebrate Your Youth," and "Ninja Of Love," which features a similarly flat effort from Michael Franti, Williams works admirably to stretch his vocals as well as his guitar.

Intricate guitars plus serious guest stars could be a recipe for pretentiousness but the album's liner notes allieve any worries over Williams' ego: he seems just as amazed as anyone to have assembled Dream's all-star array. Plus, he deflates any astronomical illusions over his technological acumen in describing his amazement over recording with Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten and Jeff Sipe without ever being in the same room.

Williams' finger-plucking guitar style, though entertaining, can wear thin over the course of a few songs. In that sense, the inclusion of the wide array of guest stars gives Williams numerous interesting foils to play off of and keeps Dream from retrenching the same old groove. There's some straight-forward rock on "Play This," an "appeal" for radio airplay as well as some country on "Sing For My Dinner." On the latter, Williams joins his musical cousins String Cheese Incident for a lengthy tune that rotates between up-tempo bluegrass and sweaty, bluesy jamming. While Williams hasn't created a transcendent masterpiece with Dream, he has concocted his most varied, accomplished work to date.

Labels: Bob Weir, Keller Williams, Michael Franti, Steve Kimock, String Cheese Incident, Victor Wooten

By: David Schultz

Victor Wooten has to be from Mars: human beings simply don't play bass like he does. Typically, the otherworldly bassist can be found playing bass with Bela Fleck as one of the Flecktones, but when not playing with the banjo led collective of eclectic musicians, Wooten bides his time as a musician's musician. Kicking off a wintry Manhattan December, Wooten brought his Soul Circus, which included his older brothers Regi and Joseph, to New York City's Irving Plaza.

Throughout his two hour set, Wooten blithely incorporated his bass into many different styles. Any band relying heavily on their bass player will find their way into light jazz and that's where Wooten began his show. For the most part Wooten kept the show very upbeat, running through the funky, self-affirming "Victa" early in the show, bouncing through a lively "My Life" later in the evening. With the exception of Saundra Williams who fronted a smoky rendition of "Summertime" and "Ain't No Sunshine," Wooten's band relied more on their musicianship than vocals.

Wooten surrounded himself with an impressive band, mostly consisting of members of his family. After introducing his older brother Regi Wooten to the crowd as the man who taught him how to play, “The Teacher,” as Victor calls him, gave proof that the entire family might not be of this world. Taking lead on guitar, Regi led the band through a funky rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir," a fun romp through Jimi Hendrix' "Fire" before concluding his otherworldly spot with an Eddie Van Halen-like guitar solo. A similar attempt to spotlight Joseph Wooten on keyboards failed to produce the same fireworks.

In general, a twenty minute bass solo will cause the most adventurous audiences to cringe. In this case, it's what everyone came for and Wooten didn't disappoint. Holding off on the inevitable showcase until the end of the show, Wooten worked his magic with drummer Derico Watson and a looping machine providing minimal accompaniment. Running through many different techniques, Wooten left no doubt that the nickname "the Michael Jordan of bass" is more than fan-inspired braggadocio.

Photo from VictorWooten.com.

Labels: Victor Wooten

By: David Schultz

More than eight hours after the music began at the 6th Annual Jammy Awards at the Theatre at New York City's Madison Square Garden, U-Melt wrapped up their late-night, after-hours set at Lucille's Café inside the B.B. King Blues Club. By the time U-Melt launched into a seamless version of "Jacob's Ladder" and "Cloud Box" to close the show, the main stage area had been emptied, cleaned and locked up, Zappa Plays Zappa, Dweezil Zappa's revue honoring his father Frank Zappa, having finished long ago. Even with sunrise looming on the horizon, Lucille's remained filled with exhausted but frenzied fans relishing the experience and planning their excuses for skipping work the next day. And, it's just the beginning. In past years, U-Melt's after-Jammy show, which featured a guest appearance by Rob Somerville of Deep Banana Blackout, would end the festivities, but this year the Jammy Awards are the springboard for the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival that will inhabit New York City throughout the weekend.

Without question, the Jammy Awards generate more excitement than any other awards show. In celebrating the spontaneity, excitement and enjoyment of live music, the Jammys have a well-deserved reputation as a show where you will get to see and hear something you're unlikely to see anywhere else. 1/10th awards, 9/10ths concert, the Jammys pair musicians together for live performances that seem awkward on paper but, more times than not, sound phenomenal on stage.

Even with jamband titans regularly in attendance, the show typically gets stolen by an artist that seems foreign to the scene. At last year's show, Huey Lewis' strong performance with Umphrey's McGee brought down the house and Ryan Adams amazed the crowd by bringing out by freeing his inner Deadhead, teaming with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh for a spot-on reading of "Wharf Rat" and "Bird Song." This year, Peter Frampton turned in the standout performance. That is not a typo and bears repeating, Peter Frampton rocked the Jammys. Playing with Guster and guitarist Martin Sexton, Frampton came alive once again with a rendition of "Do You Feel Like I Do" complete with seventies-era talk box. No longer the fresh faced youth depicted on his most successful album, Frampton showed why his name will always be associated with live music in the annals of rock history.

The Mutaytor, a troupe of drummers, percussionists and performance artists, provided another of the evening's pleasant surprises. Joining Grateful Dead drummers and Jammy Awards co-hosts Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman, The Mutaytor's dozen or so members gave proper thunder to a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile." The Rhythm Devils' set seemed to clear the backstage area as by the time they finished running through Santana's "Jingo" and "Iko Iko," Steve Kimock, Mike Gordon, Charlie Musselwhite and many others had joined the tribalesque fun.

As he did at Woodstock ages ago, Richie Havens, wearing what looked like a homemade dress, opened the evening with The Mutaytor drums performing an inspired "Freedom" before yielding the stage to Mutaytor's performance artists. Blues Traveler teamed up with DJ Logic and R & B legend Bettye Lavette that featured the spry 60-year-old soul singer own the stage, forcing John Popper to keep up with her on their cover of "Magic Carpet Ride." One of the evening’s more intriguing pairings involved Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, jazz pianist McCoy Tyner and tap dancer Savion Glover. The only thing more enjoyable than Victor Wooten and Glover's bass/tap dance duo was the bemused expression on Tyner's face as he tried to comprehend what he was watching.

After engaging in a competition as to who could wear the silliest hat, Steve Kimock and Joe Satriani teamed up for some guitar fireworks. Midway through their set, they were joined by Grace Potter on keyboards for a mindblowing rendition of Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer." Potter and her band the Nocturnals received the New Groove of the Year award earlier in the show and the young singer/guitarist/keyboard player more than held her own with the two veteran guitarists.

Frank Zappa, whose inventive influence plays an enormous role in the jamband world, posthumously received the Lifetime Achievement Award. In accepting the award on behalf of his father, Dweezil Zappa noted that his father really didn't like awards or award shows but thinks he would have really appreciated his honor from the Jammys. Zappa then took the stage with Napoleon Murphy Brock and his new Zappa Plays Zappa ensemble for, what else, a set of Zappa tunes. Even though the set contained standout solos from keyboardist Chick Corea and Umphrey's McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger, the set wasn't the blowaway transcendent performance most hoped for.

At the 3rd annual Jammys, moe. braved the chants of "More Cowbell," playing with Blue Oyster Cult. This year, moe. had the stage relatively to themselves, being lent an unintrusive hand by The Mad Professor, covering "The Guns of Brixton" and offering a lengthy version of "Buster." Little Feat and blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin, anchored the final spot in the lineup, being joined by Stephen and Ky-Mani Marley and ultimately everyone else for an all-star finale of "One Love." Once the Bob Marley tune, intended as the evening's last number, concluded, Little Feat broke into an impromptu rendition of "Dixie Chicken," ending the night with a flourish.

Amidst all the excitement, awards were handed out in categories like Live Performance of the Year, Live Album of the Year, Studio Album of the Year and Tour of the Year. Like any awards show, it's tempting to parse through all the trophies handed out, the speeches of gratitude and the recognition of exceptional achievement in an attempt to discern a winner. At the Jammys, such an endeavor always leads back to the same winner each year - - - the audience.

The 2006 Jammy Awards went to:

Tour of the Year:
Big Summer Classic Tour (String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Yonder Mountain String Band, Umphrey's McGee, New Monsoon, and Xavier Rudd)

Live Performance of the Year:
moe. Tsunami Relief Benefit, Roseland Ballroom, NYC, 2/10/05 (with Trey Anastasio, Sam Bush, Jennifer Hartswick, John Medeski and Ray Paczkowski)

Live Album of the Year:
Widespread Panic - Live at Myrtle Beach

Studio Album of the Year:
Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon - Sixty Six Steps

Archival Album of the Year:
Phish - Live at Madison Square Garden New Year's Eve 1995

Song of the Year:
Tea Leaf Green - "Taught To Be Proud"

New Groove:
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

DVD of the Year:
Bob Dylan - No Direction Home

Global Rhythm World Music Award:
Baaba Maal

Labels: DJ Logic, Dweezil Zappa, Frank Zappa, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, moe., Peter Frampton, Steve Kimock, Tea Leaf Green, U-Melt, Umphrey's McGee, Victor Wooten, Zappa Plays Zappa