Fred Wesley & The New JBs are coming to Sun Music Hall; Laura Reed and Deep Pocket open the show
It’s 7 p.m. April 5, at The Sun Music Hall, Floyd. (Thanks, Paul.)
Wesley and the JBs were James Brown’s backing band during his heyday. Check out the band’s music at its myspace.com page. Trying to get word on whether Maceo Parker and/or Pee Wee Ellis will be on the show. Either way, should be hot.
Opening act Laura Reed and Deep Pocket, from Asheville, N.C., features one of our old friends, Debrissa McKinney. McKinney, from Botetourt County, sings harmonies and plays sax.
According to DLP Concerts, which is presenting the show:
>Tickets for Fred Wesley & The New JBs are $22 in Advance and $25 Day of Show, and are available through the DLP Concerts box office at (540) 745-6643, Harvest Moon in Floyd, Rocket Music in Blacksburg, Fret Mill Music in Roanoke, or online at www.dlpconcerts.com.
From a DLP Concerts news release:
>One of the music world’s most-sampled artists thanks to his work with the Godfather of Soul James Brown, Fred Wesley is one of the key architects of funk music. Born in Mobile, Ala., he began his professional career as a teenage trombonist with Ike and Tina Turner. He was music director, arranger, trombonist and a primary composer for James Brown from 1968-1975, then arranged and played for Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy’s Rubber Band. He has played with and arranged for a wide variety of other artists including Ray Charles, Pancho Sanchez, New York Voices, Slide Hampton, Van Morrison, the SOS Band and Cameo, to name a few.
>Scores of other artists including Janet Jackson and Nas have sampled his work. Since his stint with the Count Basie Orchestra, he has maintained a focus on jazz – playing, recording, writing and promoting it. His solo jazz recordings include “To Someone,” “Amalgamation,” “Comme Ci Comme Ca,” “Full Circle” and “Wuda Cuda Shuda.”
February 26, 2009 - 5:28 PM
FRED won’t u blow!!! I love Fred Wesley!! The JB’s…Horney Horns…Rubber Band…his hornlines are in my DNA!!
All those words and I can’t find the date of the show. And I’m further confused. Will he be playing jazz or funk/soul? Sounds like he’s playing jazz now.
It’s April 5. Here’s a story about the aforementioned Debrissa McKinney — formerly of Botetourt County — who is now touring with Laura Reed:
http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/botetourtview/2008/06/19/james-river-grad-tours-with-world-beat-band/
Haha! Thanks, Paul. April 5. I got all excited, and left out that little info nugget.
Should be a great show, with Laura Reed and Deep Pocket opening, and they’re good enough to be a headliner themselves. Fred Wesley, still playing great, is a name younger fans shouldn’t miss. Just consider his affiliations: Ike Turner, Hank Ballard, James Brown, P-Funk, Curtis Mayfield, Earth Wind & Fire…he’s a truly bad ‘bone. Even if he’s doing a more jazz than funk show, it should be great. (His former JB’s section mate Maceo Parker recorded a jazz album for Verve, with Roanoke’s own Don Pullen on organ, that’s quite good). These guys all grew up with jazz, and Wesley’s career underscores the connection between jazz and funk. Sample Wesley the old school way: live and in person.
BTW, it was largely unnoticed, but within a couple weeks of each other in January we lost the most famous of Ray Charles’ sax sections: Leroy Cooper, David “Fathead” Newman, and Hank Crawford.
So awesome to come upon this article. I just got home from the late show (both were sold out and I heard both are tomorrow too) at Warmdaddys in Philly. I can’t even tell you how amazing Fred and The New JB’s are… I mean does this guy deserve a Grammy, or what? And how come he wasn’t inducted into the Hall of Fame years ago? This band is tight! They blew up the place with great dance FW grooves.
I haven’t been able to sleep since after the show I got home and scoured the net for Fred’s new record, Fred Wesley & The New JB’s “Let It Flow – Fred Wesley’s Tribute To James Brown”. It’s available at http://www.MajorHana.com on CD and MP3. I got the MP3′s emailed to me. It’s 10 songs, 5 instrumental, 5 w vocals. Bootsy, Chuck D, def the Funkiest record of the year. I can’t stop playing it.
Anyway, don’t miss the show. Keep the Funk alive Fred…
Oh, and you guys are lucky to get Laura Reed…