US trombonist

Fred Wesley was born in 1943, the son of a high school teacher and big band leader. Like Alfred [[artist:49223]], his first love was jazz, until he joined the [[artist:Ike and Tina Turner]] Revue in 1962. A brief period with [[artist:Hank Ballard and the Midnighters]] and Army service preceded his first term with [[artist: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 [[artist:The J.B.'s]], after its original line-up including [[artist:Bootsy Collins]] left in 1971; the versatile trombonist then went on to featured roles with [[artist:George Clinton]] as both a member of [[artist:Funkadelic]] and leader of [[artist:Horny Horns]]); he joined the [[artist:Count Basie Orchestra]] as [[artist:Al Grey]]'s replacement in the late 1980s.