Fred Wesley: Biography

• Overview
• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

• Videos
• Photos
• Groups/Boards
• Fan Sites

• Pee Wee Ellis
• Stanley Turrentine
• Maceo Parker
• Rusty Bryant
• Gene Connors
• Johnny Otis
• Harold Ousley

• Bill Johnson

• The JB's
• James Brown/The JB's
• Grady Harrell
• Greyboy Allstars
• Bootsy Collins
• Sarah Morrow

• The JB's
• Parliament
• Funkadelic

• Gary Shider
• Bobby Byrd
• Bernie Worrell
• Rick Gardner
• St. Clair Pinckney
• George Clinton
• Richard "Kush" Griffith

Born:

Jan 1, 1944 in Mobile, AL

Genres:

R&B and Soul Music, Funk Music, Rock Music

Decades Active:

1970's|1990's

Artistic Quality

Low

Ratings Guide

Fred Wesley has played with Count Basie's orchestra. During the '60s and '70s, he was a pivotal member of James Brown's bands, serving at times as musical director. His slippery riffs and pungent, precise solos, contrasting with those of saxophonist Maceo Parker, gave Brown's RB, soul, and funk tunes their instrumental punch. He later left Brown 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. He later cut an album as a leader on Antilles, working with many young-lion types, who remember his music with Brown and are interested in finding common ground between improvisatory and funk/RB territory.

- Ron Wynn, All Music Guide