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

Having done his time as the bandleader and arranger for James Brown, and after being deeply involved with the formation of Parliament-Funkadelic, Fred Wesley’s career took a new musical direction into straight-ahead jazz as a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. In some ways, this period provided Fred with the discipline to focus on developing his own musicianship and bandleader role, but he still couldn’t entirely break away from the funk.

House Party was released in 1980 and was Fred Wesley’s attempt to capture the spirit of the funk without the debauchery of late-1970’s music industry and culture. The album was effective in showcasing all the best elements of funk, but it failed to push the boundaries of the genre as perhaps electro-funk acts were doing around that time. Fred’s trombone playing, however, does appear to have bridged the gap between funk rhythms and jazz melodies, surely an influence to the academics coming out of New York and Los Angeles throughout the decade.

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