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I recently finished a biography of Victor Wooten, written by Paul R. Hargett. As Wooten is one of my heroes, I was looking forwards to reading about his life and better understanding the man. I did get what I expected, but not what I hoped. This book is best understood by the phrase "if only" and the word "hagiography".
While the book is well written, after reading the first three chapters, I half expected Wooten to walk on water. I would be hard pressed to be tell you of anything negative about the man as based on this text (well, there's one incident about a dance contest from when Wooten was a child).
The excising of unflattering data led to some fairly strange developments in the book. The author mentions that Wooten and his wife were separated for a time. In most biographies, that would be considered a major item, one worthy of several pages (if not an entire chapter). This book? One sentence.
During the time of the recording of Yin-Yang, Vic and Holly [Victor's wife since 1994] were separated. Victor spent time with Tali [Ovadia, a close friend of Victor's] and they became close.
Okay, two sentences. I suspect there's a lot more to this story than is encompassed in these twenty-three words. Actually, the afterword written by Wooten himself exposes more detail on the event and it's fallout than the biographer. To me, that's a shortcoming of the work.
A stronger section of the book tells of the development of Wooten's music style and the influences on it today. Hargett explores the family dynamics, the influence of the natural world and how martial arts impacts on his life and music. The book is worth the price of admission for that insight.
It seems to me that Hargett has genuine love, admiration and respect for Wooten. So much so, that I think it clouds his objectivity. While I can understand having that sort of feeling, I expect it from friends and fans. From a biographer, I expect a little more clinical detachment.
It's a good read, don't get me wrong. I learned a lot about the man and about the influences that shape his playing. However, the definite biography of Victor Lemonte Wooten remains to be written.
Posted by Casper at September 1, 2004 12:03 AM