artist info

One of the forefathers of funk, legendary bandleader Fred Wesley, with his band the New JBs, maintains the standard he helped James Brown and George Clinton set in the ‘70s. Together at its core for more than 30 years, Fred Wesley and the New JB Horns, is a living celebration of this seminal music, as well as Fred's and others' soulful jazz, funk and blues compositions. Their repertoire ranges from danceable hits like "Pass the Peas” made with James Brown and the original JBs including Maceo Parker, to jazz compositions that reflect the bebop in Fred's heart.

Born in Columbus, Georgia, and raised in Mobile, Ala., Fred began his career as a teenage trombonist with Ike and Tina Turner. He later was music director, arranger, trombonist and a primary composer for Brown from 1968-1975, then arranged for and played with Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy’s Rubber Band.

With Brown, Fred became “the world’s most famous sideman, orchestrating the sinuous grooves and contributing the bold, surgically precise solos that defined the language of funk.” He helped take funk to the next level with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins."

Fred has recorded a dozen solo albums including the cult favorite “House Party,” is featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “When We Were Kings” and countless other documentaries and books about the funk, and gives master classes around the world.

Fred’s critically acclaimed memoir “Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Side Man” (Duke University Press, 2002) chronicles in hilarious stories a half century of music history through the eyes of one of the world’s most-sampled musicians.

Also a veteran of the Count Basie Orchestra, Fred has worked with scores of other artists, from Ray Charles to Trombone Shorty. His forthcoming blues album, "From the Blues and Back," is complete and will be released later in 2023.