"I'm Payin' Taxes, What Am I Buyin'" - Fred Wesley

"I'm Payin' Taxes, What Am I Buyin'" (PDF) from The J.B.'s album, Damn Right I Am Somebody, and compilation, Funky Good Time: The Anthology.

Here's another lesson in Fred Wesley 101.  I honestly do not have much to write about this tune, I believe that it pretty much speaks for itself.  You can take any bar in this solo as a case study in Wesleyian phrasing.  It also appears that only a few phrases are ever repeated in this solo.

I want to reiterate what I call the "hiccup" rhythm.  It is the use of two sixteenth notes on the up-beat of 1, which instantly makes it a syncopated rhythm.  Notice the variation of other phrases that begin on the up-beat.  Also, do not forget about the second part of this solo where the tonality shifts from minor to dominant, and Fred explores the major 3rd (C#) and 6th (F#) with the flat 7th (G).  The emphasis appears to be on beat 2, but even so, there is still room for syncopation.

I couldn’t find a video of this tune, but here’s are two YouTube videos of Fred Wesley sitting in with Karl Denson & The Greyboy Allstars:

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