Fred Wesley Throws a House Party

At the 2010 Stockholm Jazz Festival-June 11, 2010

They say, that behind every dark cloud lies a silver lining.

Saturday was a miserable day. One of those days where you think that the calendar saying June means nothing to Nature. It rained and blew all day, and the idea of going outside to stand at the Stockholm Jazz Festival was not exactly appealing.

Eva, however, had to work the Fasching booth at the show that night. Fasching is the oldest jazz club in Stockholm, and they are a sponsor of the Festival. With Eva going, it would be difficult for me to come up with an excuse good enough to beg out.

In addition to the weather, Stockholm is getting ready for a Royal Wedding. Getting around downtown is not the easiest thing to do. We walk a lot in Stockholm, so we walked a lot tonight.

We arrived at the event, and while Eva went to her post, I gathered my entry pass and met her at the booth a few minutes later.

Eva was talking to a man, who was introduced to me as Nils Landgren. Nils is a Swedish musician, plays the trombone and has been playing in big bands and funk combos all over the globe. I asked him if he was playing tonight, which showed my ignorance of the festival line-up.

Without showing his disdain for me one iota, he said yes, he would be going on before Kool & the Gang with his group, the Funk Unit. I politely said I would be looking forward to seeing him perform. "I'm a sucker for a horn band," I told him. That wasn't a lie. "Yeah," he said, "I'll be playing with Fred Wesley. He's a friend of mine."

Picking my jaw up from the ground, I sputtered, "THE Fred Wesley!!!" OMG, I can't believe it!"

Fred Wesley, if I can take a moment, is a legend in popular music. I'm not sure if there is any one inventor of the musical genre known as funk, but if there is, it probably is Fred Wesley. Some might argue and say it is James Brown, but it was Fred Wesley in the band behind James Brown. Fred Wesley is the guy who James Brown always used as straight man in his spoken parts on record. "Hey! Fred!" he would say. And Fred, at the exact moment, would take the band down to "D…Dirty D."

During the 1960s and 1970s he was a pivotal member of James Brown's bands, playing on many hit recordings including "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud", "Mother Popcorn" and co-writing tunes such as "Hot Pants". His slippery riffs and strong, precise solos, complemented those of saxophonist Maceo Parker, gave Brown's R&B, soul, and funk tunes their instrumental punch.In addition to backing Brown, the J.B.'s, which included other former Brown sidemen including Parker and St. Clair Pinckney recorded on their own, sometimes with Brown performing on organ or synthesizer. Their albums were generally a mixture of heavy funk tracks and some jazz cuts. They scored a number of chart hits like "Pass the Peas," "Gimme Some More," and their #1 R&B hit, "Doing It to Death". Credited to "Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s", "Doing It to Death" sold over one million copies. Like most of James Brown's music, the J.B.'s recorded output has been heavily mined for samples by hip hop DJs and record producers.

And here I was, about to see the living legend of funk, Fred Wesley, play with a collection of Swedish funksters led by a another 'bone player, who probably had sucked in every rift that Fred had played through the speakers of his sound system.

The Funk Unit did not disappoint. In fact, to this first time listener, they were a welcome surprise. They started right in, and when you see band members smiling at each other halfway through the first song, you can be pretty sure you're going to be in for a good night. These Swedes, minus Nils, are young enough to be Fred's grandchildren, but old enough to deliver the funk with the chops necessary to make booties get up and move. Having never seen the group before, I had no way of knowing if they were just up for their meeting with Fred, or this is who they are, but whatever the reason, they were tight and they were very good.

Finally, the man was introduced and Fred Wesley walked into the spotlight. Carrying a trombone almost as tall as he, this short, rotund man dressed in a gray suit and pressed white shirt, open at the neck, took a bow, and the lesson began.Fred put the horn to his lips and out came, "House Party."

Fred led the Funk Unit through "House Party," "Pass the Peas," ("Like we used to do," he added.) and "Funky Good Time." In addition he played along side for some of Landgren's compositions. He was the Master, and all eyes of the band members were on him. He cajoled and urged the band, and each member responded in kind. During Funky Good Time, he even took the Funk Unit down to "D…Dirty D."

In the encore, Nils urged the crowd to chant, "FRED-FRED-FRED!" When Fred came out, he asked, "Who's your Daddy?"

There was no need to answer.