In the jazz fusion and funk worlds, Victor Wooten is heralded as a bass guitar great, alongside legends like Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke and Larry Graham. Meanwhile, those in the jam band scene know Wooten best as a member of the long-running jazz/bluegrass combo Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, a mainstay on the national festival and concert hall circuit. Certainly, Wooten's technique is amazing, but his open approach and willingness to embrace a broad range of styles have led him through one wild musical adventure after another.

Most recently, he worked up a batch of new compositions and arrangements for a double release on his own label, Vix Records. Wooten's two new albums, Sword & Stone and Words & Tones, are sister collections. The former, a playful, jazzy, bass solo-heavy album, features instrumental versions of Wooten's new set of tunes, while the latter features lyrical versions of the same songs, with performances by vocalists Saundra Williams, Divinity Roxx and Me'Shell Ndegeocello.

"I knew I'd be doing a record featuring female vocalists, and I got them to contribute to the lyrics so that they could feel like they were a part of it," Wooten says. Indeed, he started out working on material for what would become Words & Tones, but was soon inspired to expand on those songs with instrumental renditions.

"I sent the singers the music… hoping they could sing something along with those melodies," he says. "In doing so, an idea popped. I liked the melodies. They worked as instrumentals. I figured it was my chance to release the music in two very different records."

Wooten initially planned to release two separate albums on two different record labels on the same day, but his optimistic endeavor didn't work out. "I realized that people who are in the same business don't like working together like that," he says. Instead, he decided to follow through on his plans by utilizing his own imprint.

The two albums inhabit completely different stylistic areas: Its jazzy complexities and festive, funky feel differentiate Sword & Stone from its smooth jazz/world music-inspired counterpart.

"I'm totally open to all criticism, and I accept all of it," Wooten says. "Once it's out of my hands and out there, I want the listener to get what they want out of it. I already like it. I understand that people gravitate toward what they grew up with. However, people first come to know an artist is usually what they want that artist to continue to do. People are used to me playing instrumental music with a lot of fiery bass, and when I don't do that, some people feel gypped. But I'm bigger than one style."

Wooten will have a chance to showcase his new styles this month during a three-week tour, during which he and his band will share a bill with veteran guitarist Jimmy Herring (Widespread Panic).

"I've known Jimmy for many years, ever since he was playing with Col. Bruce Hampton's Aquarium Rescue Unit," Wooten says. "When I heard him with that band, I instantly became a fan."

Herring and his backing combo—drummer Jeff Sipe, bassist Neal Fountain and keyboardist Matt Slocum—recently delved into jazz fusion territory with an album titled Subject to Change Without Notice. Between the sophisticated prog and fusion elements of Herring's set and Wooten's funky jazz jams, there seems to be plenty of musical common ground.

"Jimmy has more of a following in the South, so he can help bring people to us who normally wouldn't come," Wooten says. "We have a bigger following in the North… so we'll be able to help them, too."

For this tour, Wooten will switch between electric, tenor and upright bass and play a little bit of cello and guitar, as well.

"I had quite a big band for these new albums, but we're doing some new things on this tour," Wooten says. "It's hard to travel across the country and abroad with a large band, so I've been traveling with a smaller version. We'll have seven people onstage at the Georgia Theatre, and we'll pull from different versions of each song, with vocals or with horns or whatever.

"Most of the musicians are playing three or four instruments, so it's so much fun. Both groups of fans will get more of a show and a wider variety of music. And it always makes it more fun for the musicians, because we get inspired every night hearing each other."