Es gibt hier anscheinend nirgends einen Fred Wesley-Thread, daher mal hier: Hip-O-Select hat vor ein paar Wochen Album von Wesley mit den J.B.’s veröffentlicht, das in der Zeit um „Watermelon Man“ entstanden ist und damals nicht veröffentlicht wurde. Neugierig macht mich auch die Ankündigung weiterer Releases aus dem JB-Umfeld ganz zu Ende des Promo-Textchens:
The JBs and Fred Wesley
The Lost Album featuring Watermelon ManIn the early 1970s as James Brown gained new ground with a hungry group of young musicians he called “The J.B.’s,” the Godfather of Soul knew one man could best lead the band: Fred Wesley, the trombonist who was a master at funk arranging. Under Brown’s direction, Wesley would become famous for his solos, and leadership, on the classic hits “Soul Power,” “Gimme Some More” and “Pass The Peas.” Brown thanked Fred, who was a jazzman at heart, by offering him a jazz album under his own name: The JB’s and Fred Wesley. Recording ensued; a single was issued, “Watermelon Man,” but the LP release was cancelled.
Now, from Hip-oSelect.com, comes the complete album as Fred Wesley intended, with six of its nine tracks issued for the first time anywhere, plus four bonus tracks from the sessions that were only previously issued as 45-rpm singles. Except for “Watermelon Man,” which used the J.B.’s – with Brown himself on drums – The JB’s and Fred Wesley features the cream of New York studio musicians: Randy and Michael Brecker, Joe Farrell, Eddie Daniels, Steve Gadd, Ron Carter and many others. The album is rich with then-current hits, from Brown’s own “Get On The Good Foot” to Bill Withers’ “Use Me,” the standard “Secret Love,” which Wesley had been playing for years, and originals by Fred and his arranger, Dave Matthews, all in a tightly arranged jazz-funk setting.
With the conclusion of the James Brown Singles Series, it would seem the JB vault is dry. Not so: The JB’s and Fred Wesley/ The Lost Album featuring Watermelon Man is but one release of more from the archives.
1. Watermelon Man
2. Sweet Loneliness*
3. Secret Love*
4. Seulb*
5. You’ve Got A Friend*
6. Transmograpification*
7. Use Me
8. Get On The Good Foot*
9. Everybody Plays The Fool
10. Alone Again (Naturally) (Bonus Track)
11. Back Stabbers (Bonus Track)
12. J.B. Shout (Bonus Track)
13. Funky & Some (Bonus Track)* Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (long version) and 8 are previously unreleased
Auf Allmusic kriegt das Album von Thom Jurek vier Sterne.
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"Don't play what the public want. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you doin' -- even if it take them fifteen, twenty years." (Thelonious Monk) | Meine Sendungen auf Radio StoneFM: gypsy goes jazz, #158 – Piano Jazz 2024 - 19.12.2024 – 20:00 | Slow Drive to South Africa, #8: tba | No Problem Saloon, #30: tba