“Still On The Loose” (PDF) from the Fred Wesley album, House Party.

The art of rapping had been around long before Fred Wesley’s attempt on this 1980 recording but it still may have been ahead of its time as the introduction of MTV was still a year away (and it would be another six years until Rick Rubin and Aerosmith permitted hip hop to be safe enough for mainstream audiences). Despite what others claim, James Brown would argue that he invented rap and many would point to his “Say It Loud” recording as its origin, which coincidentally was Fred Wesley’s first recording session with the band and further proves that Fred was not only an early adopter of rap but was there at the beginning, as well.

That’s not to say that his rapping on this recording has withstood the test of time after forty years. Nevermind his effort to cram as many possible rhyming words into his bars, it’s hard to discern whether the rapper is celebrating his outlandish lifestyle or making light of his relationship woes. The phrase “on the loose” suggests the avoidance of being committed, yet the rapper appears to blame his hard luck onto the women, in this case, who expect more from him.

Come to think of it, Fred was also there when they sang, “If you hear any noise, it’s just me and the boys”... but what do I really know about any of this?

The trombone soloing is classic Fred Wesley material and that’s what we all love. He leaves the downbeat on the “big one” open to be accented by the rhythm section’s groove and he syncopates his phrasing accordingly, while the use of the 7th and 9th intervals suggests the melodic influence of jazz. As the groove develops, the physical boundaries of the horn’s upper register can barely contain Fred’s energy from… ahem… “letting loose.”

Here’s a YouTube trailer of a masterclass from the IMEP Paris College of Music:

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