SMV, (l-r) Victor Wooten, Stanley Clarke, and Marcus Miller

Assembling a supergroup always seems like a good idea — in theory. Practice proves otherwise, often leading to disappointment in the form of terrible music. The trepidation associated with SMV, a group co-led by groundbreaking bassists Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten, and their new release, Thunder, came in several forms. Would this album be a chops-fest for these master technicians? How do you have three basses going at the same time and make it sound good?

Wooten, who made his name playing with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, had a simple answer to these questions when he spoke with DCist earlier this week, just as the group was beginning rehearsals for a tour in support of the album. The trio will be performing tomorrow night at Wolf Trap.

“We all knew we had to make sure it was musical and not just a slap fest or whatever,” he explained. “We also wanted to make sure the bass players were happy in getting enough bass, but the album had to sustain multiple listenings.”

The seeds of the project were planted two years ago. Wooten and Miller, a successful bassist/bandleader/producer who gained recognition while playing with Miles Davis in the 80s, were at an event where they presented Clarke with a lifetime achievement award—a deserved recognition for someone who revolutionized both upright and electric bass playing when he burst onto the scene in the early 1970s. The three performed Clarke’s fusion classic, “School Days”, at the event.