Biography
Born in Mobile, AL, Fred Wesley began his professional career as a teenage trombonist with Ike and Tina Turner. He was music director, arranger, trombonist and a primary composer for the legendary James Brown from 1968 to 1975 and thereafter, arranged and played for Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy’s Rubber Band. He has played with and arranged for a wide variety of other artists including Ray Charles, Pancho Sanchez, New York Voices, Slide Hampton, Van Morrison, Usher, the SOS Band and Cameo, to name a few. Scores of other artists including Janet Jackson and Nas have sampled his work. Since his stint with the Count Basie Orchestra, he has maintained a focus on jazz – playing, recording, writing and promoting it. His solo jazz recordings include “To Someone,” “Amalgamation,” “Comme Ci Comme Ca,” “Full Circle” and “Wuda Cuda Shuda.”
Fred is an extraordinary artist with many facets:
TROMBONE PLAYER: He has no equals in American music. Whether it’s jazz, funk, R&B, blues or other, his solos never fail to thrill.
BANDLEADER: From his direction of James Brown’s fabled JBs to today’s New JBs, he knows how to choose the best musicians and meld them into tight units that generate mad heat.
ARRANGER AND COMPOSER: Some of funk music’s biggest hits by James Brown, the JBs, Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy’s Rubber Band are living testaments to his gifts, as are his soulful jazz compositions such as “For the Elders,” “La Bossa” and “No One.”
AUTHOR: His half-century career is a treasure trove of stories, some of which fill the pages of his compelling memoir “Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Side Man” (Duke University Press 2002).
SIDE MAN: The reliability and fire he’s contributed to bands ranging from the Count Basie Orchestra to the American Idol Band, make him a sure bet in any setting.
MUSICOLOGIST AND EDUCATOR: Wesley shares his wealth of musical knowledge and experiences through liner notes, articles and interviews, and with young musicians in settings including classrooms, band rooms and recital halls at colleges and universities worldwide.
The members of the New JBs are accomplished musicians from around the world with solid credentials in Funk and Jazz. They’ve been playing together with Fred Wesley for nearly two decades.
Instrumentation
Fred Wesley, trombone
Bruce Cox, drums
Dwayne Dolphin, bass
Peter Madsen (or Barney McCall), keys
Reggie Ward, guitar
Ernie Fields, sax
Gary Winters, trumpet
Discography
Albums available on I-Tunes:
Fred Wesley, "Woulda Coulda Shoulda"
The Fred Wesley Quartet, "To Someone"
Fred Wesley & the Horny Horns, "A Blow for Me and a Toot to You"
Fred Wesley & the Swing-N Jazz All-Stars, "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing"
+ more
Album available in Japan:
Fred Wesley, "Funk for Yo' Ass"
Links
| http://www.funkyfredwesley.com |