"Time Is Running Out Fast" - Fred Wesley

“Time Is Running Out Fast” (PDF) from the James Brown album, The Payback.

Despite 1974 being one of the most prolific years for Mr. Brown, musical director Fred Wesley had already been planning his final exit from the band. In his autobiography, Fred recollects events from this period in which he was a witness and bystander to the abuse handed out by Mr. Brown, regretfully not speaking out because, in Fred’s opinion at the time, the personal benefits of fame, performance, and production credits outweighed the violence established within the system. However, by the time that The Payback was recorded, perhaps the writing was already on the wall as Fred Wesley relentlessly played his trombone on “Time Is Running Out Fast” as if trombone solos were going out of style, especially with the popularity of disco music on the horizon.

Here is a YouTube video from Africa News featuring Fred Wesley reminiscing about the 1974 Zaire music festival:

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