Fred Wesley
Encyclopedia
Fred Wesley is an American
jazz
and funk
trombonist, best known for his work with James Brown
in the 1960s and 1970s.
, and raised in Mobile, Alabama
, the son of a high school teacher and big band
leader. As a child he took piano and later trumpet lessons, and at around the age of 12 his father brought a trombone home, whereupon he switched to trombone.
During the 1960s and 1970s he was a pivotal member of James Brown
's bands, playing on many hit recordings including "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud
", "Mother Popcorn
" and co-writing tunes such as "Hot Pants
". His slippery riffs and pungent, precise solos, complementing those of saxophonist Maceo Parker
, gave Brown's R&B, soul
, and funk
tunes their instrumental punch. In the 1970s he also served as band leader and musical director of Brown's band the J.B.'s
and did much of the composing
and arranging
for the group. His name was credited on 'Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s' recording of "Doing It to Death
", which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
by the R.I.A.A. in July 1973. He left Brown's band in 1975 and spent several years playing with George Clinton
's various Parliament-Funkadelic
projects, even recording a couple of albums as the leader of a spin-off group, The Horny Horns
.
Wesley became a force in jazz in 1978 when he joined the Count Basie
Orchestra. He released his first jazz album
as a leader, To Someone in 1988. It was followed by New Friends in 1990, Comme Ci Comme Ca in 1991, the live album
Swing and Be Funky, and Amalgamation in 1994.
In the early 1990s Wesley toured with his colleagues from the James Brown band, Pee Wee Ellis
and Maceo Parker, as the JB Horns. With the departure of Ellis the band became The Maceo Parker Band. Wesley was featured trombonist with Parker until 1996 when he formed his own band, The Fred Wesley Group, now known as Fred Wesley and the New JBs.
Wesley's 35-year career includes playing with and arranging for a wide variety of other artist such as Ray Charles
, Lionel Hampton
, Randy Crawford
, Vanessa Williams
, The SOS Band
, Cameo
, Van Morrison
, Socalled
and rappers De La Soul
, to name a few. Many other artists have sampled
his work.
In 2002 Wesley wrote Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman (ISBN 0-8223-2909-3), an autobiography
about his life as a sideman
. Also in 2002 he recorded an album entitled Cuda Wuda Shuda."
Wesley served as an adjunct professor in the Jazz Studies department of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
from 2004 to 2006, and now works with students as a visiting artist at numerous other schools including Berklee College of Music and Columbia College of Chicago. In addition to performing with his own band, he is currently touring as part of a collaboration called Abraham Inc. along with Klezmer
artist David Krakauer
and Klezmer/hip-hop artist Socalled
.
In 2007, Wesley accepted an invitation to contribute to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
(Vanguard
). He participated with Lenny Kravitz
, the Rebirth Brass Band
, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Pee Wee Ellis
and Maceo Parker
to contribute their version of Domino's "Whole Lotta Lovin'".
In 2010, Wesley contributed to Kings (Freestyle Records), the fourth album by Israeli Funk
and Groove ensemble, The Apples. Specific sessions on the album were dedicated to working with Wesley, one of the group's heroes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
trombonist, best known for his work with James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
in the 1960s and 1970s.
Biography
Wesley was born in Columbus, GeorgiaColumbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, and raised in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, the son of a high school teacher and big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
leader. As a child he took piano and later trumpet lessons, and at around the age of 12 his father brought a trombone home, whereupon he switched to trombone.
During the 1960s and 1970s he was a pivotal member of James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
's bands, playing on many hit recordings including "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud
Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud
"Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a funk song written and recorded by James Brown in 1968. It is notable both as one of Brown's signature songs and as one of the most popular Black Power anthems of the 1960s. The song was released as a two-part single which held the number-one spot on the...
", "Mother Popcorn
Mother Popcorn
"Mother Popcorn ", is a song recorded by James Brown and released as a two-part single in 1969. A #1 R&B and #11 Pop hit,. It was the highest-charting of a series of recordings inspired by the popular dance The Popcorn which Brown made that year...
" and co-writing tunes such as "Hot Pants
Hot Pants (song)
"Hot Pants " is a song by James Brown. Brown recorded the song in 1971 and released it that year as a three-part single on his People Records label, which was then distributed by his primary label King. It was a number-one R&B hit and reached number fifteen on the pop chart in the U.S...
". His slippery riffs and pungent, precise solos, complementing those of saxophonist Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
, gave Brown's R&B, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
tunes their instrumental punch. In the 1970s he also served as band leader and musical director of Brown's band the J.B.'s
The J.B.'s
The J.B.'s were James Brown's band during the first half of the 1970s. On record the J.B.'s were sometimes billed under various alternate names such as The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, A.A.B.B., The First Family and The Last Word...
and did much of the composing
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and arranging
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
for the group. His name was credited on 'Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s' recording of "Doing It to Death
Doing It to Death
"Doing It to Death" is a funk song recorded by The J.B.'s featuring James Brown. It was released as a single in 1973 and peaked at number one on the soul singles chart and number twenty-two on the Hot 100...
", which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the R.I.A.A. in July 1973. He left Brown's band in 1975 and spent several years playing with George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
's various Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
projects, even recording a couple of albums as the leader of a spin-off group, The Horny Horns
The Horny Horns
The Horny Horns were a horn section associated with Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy's Rubber Band led by trombonist Fred Wesley. The group also featured saxophonist Maceo Parker and Rick Gardner and Richard 'Kush" Griffith on trumpets.While they are best-known for their contributions to other...
.
Wesley became a force in jazz in 1978 when he joined the Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
Orchestra. He released his first jazz album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
as a leader, To Someone in 1988. It was followed by New Friends in 1990, Comme Ci Comme Ca in 1991, the live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Swing and Be Funky, and Amalgamation in 1994.
In the early 1990s Wesley toured with his colleagues from the James Brown band, Pee Wee Ellis
Pee Wee Ellis
Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis is an American saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was an important member of James Brown's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings...
and Maceo Parker, as the JB Horns. With the departure of Ellis the band became The Maceo Parker Band. Wesley was featured trombonist with Parker until 1996 when he formed his own band, The Fred Wesley Group, now known as Fred Wesley and the New JBs.
Wesley's 35-year career includes playing with and arranging for a wide variety of other artist such as Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
, Vanessa Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
, The SOS Band
The SOS Band
The SOS Band is an American musical ensemble, founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. Originally known as Santa Monica, the 'SOS' initialism in the band's name stands for Sounds of Success.-History:...
, Cameo
Cameo (band)
Cameo is an American soul-influenced funk group that formed in the early 1970s. Cameo was initially a 13-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo to avoid a lawsuit from Ohio Players, another group from that era. Since then, Cameo has recorded several...
, Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, Socalled
Socalled
Josh Dolgin, aka Socalled, is a Canadian rapper and producer, known for his eclectic mix of hip hop, klezmer and other styles, for example drum & bass and other types of folk music. A pianist and accordion player, he has taught the latter at Klezfest London, where he has also run workshops in...
and rappers De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
, to name a few. Many other artists have sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
his work.
In 2002 Wesley wrote Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman (ISBN 0-8223-2909-3), an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
about his life as a sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
. Also in 2002 he recorded an album entitled Cuda Wuda Shuda."
Wesley served as an adjunct professor in the Jazz Studies department of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26...
from 2004 to 2006, and now works with students as a visiting artist at numerous other schools including Berklee College of Music and Columbia College of Chicago. In addition to performing with his own band, he is currently touring as part of a collaboration called Abraham Inc. along with Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
artist David Krakauer
David Krakauer
David Krakauer is an American clarinetist. He is a graduate of the High School of Music & Art, class of 1974. He is mostly known for his klezmer compositions. He became involved with klezmer music in the late 1980s while working as a classical musician, joining The Klezmatics...
and Klezmer/hip-hop artist Socalled
Socalled
Josh Dolgin, aka Socalled, is a Canadian rapper and producer, known for his eclectic mix of hip hop, klezmer and other styles, for example drum & bass and other types of folk music. A pianist and accordion player, he has taught the latter at Klezfest London, where he has also run workshops in...
.
In 2007, Wesley accepted an invitation to contribute to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino is a 2007 tribute album by various artists to Fats Domino, issued by Vanguard Records.-History:In contrast to an earlier tribute album, That's Fats: A Tribute to Fats Domino , which mostly contained previously released cover versions, Goin' Home: A Tribute to...
(Vanguard
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
). He participated with Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, the Rebirth Brass Band
Rebirth Brass Band
The Rebirth Brass Band is a New Orleans brass band. The group was founded in 1982 by tuba/sousaphone player Philip Frazier, his brother, bass drummer, Keith Frazier and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, and other school marching band members from Joseph S. Clark Senior High School in New Orleans’ Tremé...
, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Pee Wee Ellis
Pee Wee Ellis
Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis is an American saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was an important member of James Brown's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings...
and Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
to contribute their version of Domino's "Whole Lotta Lovin'".
In 2010, Wesley contributed to Kings (Freestyle Records), the fourth album by Israeli Funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and Groove ensemble, The Apples. Specific sessions on the album were dedicated to working with Wesley, one of the group's heroes.