Sharron Haley/Clarendon Citizen - Called the “creator of funk,” Fred Wesley, a trombonist, composer, arranger, bandleader, producer and author, addressed band students at Manning High School on Feb. 16 as part of Black History Month.
‘Creator of funk’ visits MHS
“I’m the funkiest trombone player in the world,” Fred Wesley told band students at Manning High School on Feb. 16, as part of Black History Month.
Wesley, 68, is world known for creating the sound referred to as funk when he played with the Godfather of Soul, James Brown in the 1970s.
There was R&B, bebop and then there was funk, Wesley told the students.
“Funk paid the most money,” he said with a laugh.
Wesley, the son of a trombonist who owned a big band, was born in Georgia but grew up in Mobile, Ala.
His grandmother taught him to play the piano at the age of three, but at the age of 12, his father brought home a trombone, handed it to his son and told him if he learned how to play it then he could play in his father’s band.
The rest is history.
“Oh boy,” Wesley said. “Here I am 12 years old and my father is going to let me play in the band. That was wild.”
At the age of 15, Wesley played with the legendary B.B. King.
“B.B. King was in Gulfport, Mississippi, and needed a band,” Wesley added. “I didn’t know who B.B. King was. He paid me $28 that night. That was so much money back then.”
At the age of 17, Wesley went on the road with Ike and Tina Turner.
Next, Wesley took to the road with the one and only James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul.”
“I spent seven years with James Brown,” Wesley added. “I learned the most when I was with him. I was very involved in all areas of the music.”
After Brown, Wesley played with Parliament Funkadelic.
“Now, that was a wild and crazy group,” Wesley told the students.
He played with George Clinton and Parliament before hooking up with the Count Basie Orchestra.
“That was a different type of music,” Wesley added. “I sounded like an elephant in a bunny rabbit parade when I first started playing with them.”
From the Count Basie Orchestra, Wesley moved on to become a studio musician playing for various music genres, including country, jazz, R&B and funk.
Wesley said he’s worked studio sessions with Earth, Wind and Fire and his name has been listed as credits on music performed by Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Other musicians Wesley has played with include Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.
Today, Wesley has his own band, the New JBs, where he plays a variety of music from jazz to bebop to R&B and his favorite, funk.
Wesley told the students he has played as many as 200 gigs year for the past 40 plus years.
Although he’s lived in Manning for the past 20 years, he’s travelled the world playing in Russia, Holland and France.
“I’m going to the White House where I’ll be playing for the Obamas,” Wesley told the band students. “I’ll be a trombone player in the Red, White and Blues Show.”
From Washington, Wesley will head to St. Petersburg, Russia and then it’s off to Paris, France and a workshop for 100 aspiring students.
One student asked Wesley how long he’d been playing the trombone.
His response, “Fifty-five years. I got it down now.”
“I love it,” Wesley said before addressing the students. “Sometimes it gets hard with the travel and I’m away from my wife. But when I get to the job, I play the job. It’s very gratifying.”
MHS Coach Tony Felder walked into the lecture room wearing a huge smile.
“Man, I am your biggest fan,” Felder told Wesley as the two shook hands. “Lil Wayne? Wesley shuts Lil Wayne and the rest down.”
What’s in Wesley’s CD player right now?
“Tremaine Hawkins. My favorite song is “What Shall I Do.” It has so much feeling.”
Troy Cato, band director for MHS and Manning Junior High School, said it’s very important for band members to see people who have made it big in music.
“It’s so important for students to see professional musicians that came from places like Manning,” Cato said. “It’s exciting. I’m excited that these students can see where music can take them; to see some of the caliber of musicians that live right here.”
