“Bop to the Boogie” (PDF) from the Fred Wesley album, House Party.

The most remarkable thing about Fred Wesley’s album House Party is how little documentation there is about it on the internet. Of course it does exist on discography websites and streaming audio platforms, but any substantial album reviews are hard to find and Fred’s crowdsourced biography barely even mentions the album.

I do recall, however, that Fred discusses the production and reception of House Party in his book, but my copy is currently in a storage bin that I can’t access while sheltered-in-place during this COVID-19 pandemic.

“Bop to the Boogie” has remained a standard part of Fred Wesley’s live show, allowing him to have some fun with the crowd’s recitation of the syncopated lyrics. And while this solo doesn’t stray very far away from the Eb blues, it does showcase Fred’s shuffling rhythm; the overlapping accents that animate the funk.

Here is a recent YouTube video of Fred with a guest appearance by saxophonist Suzanne Alt.

Recommended Reading: Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman by Fred Wesley Jr.  Published by Duke University Press.