Fred Wesley

Fred Wesley (born 1943) is a Tromboniste and a American Arrangeur of Jazz and Funk. It was in particular made known as a musical director of James Brown. It is called the " Funkiest Trombone Player Ever".

Fred Wesley was born in 1943 with Mobile, Alabama. He is the son of a professor of university and leader of Big Band. He started with studies of classical music before turning to the trombone and the Jazz to prepare with a career of trombonist of Big Band. In 1978, it enters the Count Basie Orchestra.

The birth of the musical currents Drunk and Funk completely will change the life of Fred Wesley. It enters the group of James Brown in the middle of the Sixties. During 15 years, he will be the musical director, the trombonist, while composing some of the most famous tubes of the " God Father off Soul". He invents one phrased with the recognizable trombone between all, inspired by the Jazz, with the accents of Music Drunk person and Gospel.

He composes " then; Gimme Summons More" , " Not The Peas" or " Same Beat" who all will be of the tubes interpreted by James Brown & JBs Friends. It forms then JBs Horns with Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis. These trois-là will be inseparable from the years during, at James Brown then of George Clinton which they join in the Seventies.

Fred Wesley develops his compositions then and creates Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns, with which it turns much, while recording with the majority of the musicians of the Funk planet. He continues to play with the Funkadelic like with Parliament.

With beginning of the year 90, Fred Wesley reforms JBs Horns with Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis and starts a world tour which sounds the return of Funk in top of the charts. They record several discs for various labels and occur in all Europe. " Life one Planet Groove" is an enormous success and the three Funkateers are everywhere. Playing on vagueness Acid Jazz and imposing themselves like the godfathers of instrumental Funk, they take part in very many albums, côtoient of many musicians resulting from the Rap, of the Rhythm and Blues, the Jazz and the Drunk person.

Fred Wesley then forms his own Sextet with Hugh Ragin and Karl Denson + Peter Madsen, Dwayne Dolphin and Bruce Cox. He records two discs with this formation, round as much towards Funk that towards Bop and Latin Jazz.

After meeting again with Bootsy Hakes (Full Circle) then a round with Lynn Hakes and a project around Bobby Bird, Fred Wesley recently turned as a guest of the Nile Landgren Funk Unit and Groove Collective. One could hear it on the discs of Marcus Miller, Soulive, Erykah Badu, D' Angelo, George Benson and Hocus Pocus.

In 2002, Fred Wesley wrote Hit Me, Fred: Recollections off has Sideman (ISBN 0-8223-2909-3), a Autobiographie on its life of Accompagnateur.

Fred Wesley is also professor in the department of jazz of the music school of the university of Greensboro in North Carolina.

Discography

As a leader

1988 - To Someone
1990 - New Friends
1991 - Like Ci Like Ca
1994 - Swing and Be Funky
1994 - Amalgamation
2002 - Wuda Cuda Shuda

Doin' it to death (Fred Wesley and the J.B. 'S)
Roots Revisited (Maceo Parker)
Live one Planet Groove (Maceo Parker)
Hustle With Speed (The J.B. 'S)
has Blow for has Me Toot for You (with the J.B. 'S featuring Maceo Parker)

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