Palmystery, by Victor Wooten (2008)

Songwriting and the poetry of instrumental mastery

The word “jazz” does a lot of heavy lifting when people are trying to categorize music - and too many people think of something soft and pretty (like Kenny G¹) or something abstract and jarring (like Ornette Coleman²) when you say that word.

But there is one core idea to all the wildly different kinds of jazz that ties them all together: expression through improvisation on one’s instrument.

Words can’t do justice to the observation of a master practicing his craft, so I offer you a sample of Victor Wooten putting his skills on display. See you in an hour?

Perhaps you remain unconvinced. Perhaps you argue that just because someone is really good at playing their instrument, and just because someone can entertain an audience with pyrotechnics, that doesn’t make their music interesting enough to fill a whole album.

I offer a counterpoint to your argument in Victor’s 2008 masterpiece, Palmystery. There are a few key elements to this album that work exceptionally well together: Victor’s faith, Victor’s family, and Victor’s sense of story.

“Wait,” you might say, if you know me at all, “Aren’t you an atheist?”

I am. But faith and spirituality are common to most human beings, and talking about what that means is often crucial to appreciating someone’s music.