US trombonist
Fred Wesley was born in 1943, the son of a high school teacher and big band leader. Like Alfred Pee Wee Ellis, his first love was jazz, until he joined the Ike and Tina Turner Revue in 1962. A brief period with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters and Army service preceded his first term with James Brown and his original band (1968-70); a brief Los Angeles period led to a second stint (1971-75) with the Godfather of Soul eventually leading The J.B.’s, after its original line-up including Bootsy Collins left in 1971; the versatile trombonist then went on to featured roles with George Clinton as both a member of Funkadelic and leader of Horny Horns); he joined the Count Basie Orchestra as Al Grey’s replacement in the late 1980s.