"I Make Music" - Fred Wesley
“I Make Music” (PDF) from the Fred Welsey album, House Party
Everyone needs a calling card. For much of his career, Fred Wesley has been known as the sideman for James Brown, but for his solo album, House Party, Fred wanted to reclaim his reputation as the bandleader behind Brown’s funk success, as well as showcase his studio production work in Hollywood after leaving the J.B.’s. The irony, however, is that while Fred made the music for this album to be a guaranteed hit, it went nowhere due to a record label merger and re-distribution, which prompts the question: If a hot album drops in the middle of the forest and there’s no one around to hear it…?
Despite its commercial shortcomings, House Party is an artistic achievement by a veteran visionary of the 1970’s recording industry. If the intent behind the song “I Make Music” was to be Fred’s statement of purpose, then obviously the message within its lyrics should outweigh the musical context of his trombone playing; there’s a reason why it’s not titled “I Play Trombone.” But in the role of featured trombonist, Fred understood that the only requirement was to provide “that trademark Fred Wesley sound.” It didn’t have to be flashy or virtuosic to make people happy, it only had to be funky. Fred Wesley’s realization of his artistic purpose on this album was perfectly executed.
Here is a YouTube interview with Fred from the 2015 Montreux Jazz Festival:
Recommended Reading: Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman by Fred Wesley Jr. Published by Duke University Press.