Home > Fred Wesley
Fred Wesley (born 1943) is a jazz and funk trombonist.He was the son of a high school teacher and big band leader. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was a pivotal member of James Brown's bands, playing the trombone, serving at times as musical director. His slippery riffs and pungent, precise solos, contrasting with those of saxophonist Maceo Parker, gave James Brown's R&B, soul, and funk tunes their instrumental punch. He later left James Brown's band and spent several years playing with George Clinton's various Parliament/ Funkadelic projects, even recording a couple of albums as a spin-off group, The Horny Horns.
Wesley became a force in jazz in 1978 when he joined the Count BasieWilliam "Count" Basie ( August 21, 1904 April 26, 1984) was a jazz pianist, organist, and bandleader. Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father, Harvey Lee Basie, worked as coachman for a wealthy family. After automobiles replaced horses, his fat Orchestra. He released his first jazz CD as a leader, "To Someone" in 1988. It was followed by "New Friends" in 1990, "Comme Ci Comme Ca" in 1991, and his latest two releases as a leader, the live CD, "Swing and Be Funky" and "Amalgamation" in 1994.
Wesley's 35-year career includes playing with and arranging for a wide variety of other artist such as Ray CharlesRay Charles ( September 23, 1930 June 10, 2004) was a pioneering pianist and soul singer who helped shape the sound of rhythm and blues and brought a soulful sound to everything from country music to pop standards to " God Bless America". His birth name w, Lionel HamptonLionel Hampton ( April 20, 1908 August 31, 2002), was a bandleader, jazz percussionist and vibraphone virtuoso. Hampton was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Hamp ranks among the greatest names in jazz history and worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, fr, Randy CrawfordRandy Crawford is a jazz and R&B singer. Crawford first polished her craft at club gigs from Cincinatti to St Tropez, but made her name in mid- 1970s New York, where she sang with jazzmen George Benson and Cannonball Adderley. She led R&B veterans The Cru, Vanessa Williams, The SOS Band , CameoCameo is a method of carving; or an item of jewelry made in this manner. A cameo is usually made of two types of material, commonly precious or semi-precious stone. One material is carved into a figure — the most common type being a profile portrait of a and rappers De La SoulDe La Soul is a massively influential alternative hip hop group, best known for innovating the jazz rap style. Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove and Pasemaster Mase formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape, to name a few. Many other artists have sampled his work.
Wesley toured with his colleagues from the James Brown band, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker as the JB Horns in the early nineties. With the departure of Pee Wee Ellis the band became The Maceo Parker Band. Wesley was featured trombonist with Maceo Parker until 1996 when he formed his own band, The Fred Wesley Group.
Wesley, Fred
