Ravinia 2024 Issue 4

CAROUSEL STAGE 7:30 PMWEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2024 VICTOR WOOTEN & THE WOOTEN BROTHERS † REGI WOOTEN, guitars, vocals JOSEPH WOOTEN, keyboards, vocals VICTOR WOOTEN, bass guitar, vocals ROY WOOTEN, percussion, vocals † Ravinia debut VICTOR WOOTEN & THE WOOTEN BROTHERS For over four decades, the Wooten Brothers have been recognized among the most innovative musicians and most talented and dynamic bands of brothers. Since their youth, the five brothers have been redefining the limits of jazz, funk, soul, R&B, rock, and bluegrass. They spent ear- ly years across Hawaii, Cali- fornia, and Virginia, sharing stages with the likes of Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, Ramsey Lewis, Stephanie Mills, War, and other artists. In the mid-1980s, the brothers released an album as The Wootens on Arista Records. The present tour is their first since the passing of their saxophone-playing brother Rudy. Victor Wooten—a five-time Grammy-winning artist and founding mem- ber of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones with brother “Futureman” Roy—is recognized as one of the greatest living bassists today, named among Rolling Stone ’s top 10. Also a devoted music educator, Victor has been running his unique music/nature camps since 2000 at Wooten Woods near Nashville. Joseph Wooten has been the keyboardist for the Steve Miller Band since 1993. He became an “overnight accordion player” in 1981 when be bought, auditioned on, and began performing the instrument for Busch Gardens in a matter of a few days. He has also collaborated with the likes of Whitney Houston and Kenny G when not touring with Miller or leading his own band. Roy Wooten is best known for his frenzied, inimitable drumming and percussion with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, heightening his onstage presence with surreal instruments, including his trademark “Drumitar” and “RoyEl” keyboard. Roy’s solo career and “Black Mozart” projects scan the genres of classical, jazz, soul, gospel, and spoken word. Regi Wooten’s signature guitar style of chording, slapping, tapping, and frenzied strum- ming has earned him comparisons to Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and Chuck Berry, as well as guest spots with such artists as Ginger Baker. Regi currently teaches music in Nashville, having begun teaching (little brothers Joseph and Victor) when he was only 9 years old. PAVILION 7:00 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024 ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO and MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO † † Ravinia debut ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO One of the greatest artists in international music today, Angélique Kidjo has created more than a dozen albums, which heave earned her five Grammy Awards among 14 nominations. A native of the nation known today as Benin, she has been called “Africa’s premier diva” by Time Maga- zine, and the BBC named her among the continent’s 50 most iconic figures. Additionally, in 2011 The Guardian listed her among the 100 most inspiring women in the world, and Forbes Magazine named her the first woman in its list of the most powerful celebrities in Africa. She was honored with the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award in 2015, and the following year she received Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award. Kidjo reeived the Polar Music Prize in 2023. Kidjo’s fluency in multiple cultures and languages as a performer has drawn an audience that tran- scends borders with music that cross-pollinates the West African traditions of her childhood with elements of American R&B, funk, and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America. Kidjo published her first book, Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music , in 2014, and the following year she released the album Sings with the Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxem- bourg , which earned Kidjo a Grammy Award, and collaborated with Philip Glass on IFÉ: Three Yorùbá Songs , which received its US premiere with the San Francisco Symphony. Her 2018 album Remain in Light celebrated and extended the African influences in the classic Talking Heads recording, reinterpreting each track with new orchestrations and layered vocals with lyrics in African languages. Celia (2019), Kidjo’s Grammy-winning tribute to Cuban singer Celia Cruz featuring such guest artists as Afrobeat drum- mer Tony Allen and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, give special focus to the Cruz’s work from the 1950s and similar connections to African music. That same year, Kidjo reconnected with Glass on his Symphony No. 12 (“Lodg- er”), a reimagination of the David Bowie album, for the premiere by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Her latest album is 2021’s Mother Nature , featuring original music created in collaboration with numerous young creators of West African music, Afrobeat, Afro-pop, dancehall, hip-hop, and alt-R&B. Angélique Kidjo previously appeared at Ravinia in 2001 and 2018. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 5 – AUGUST 18, 2024 66 DANNYCLINCH(KIDJO)