26 Jan
Hit Me Fred: Recollections of a Sideman by Fred Wesley, Jr.
- Written by Lee Prosser
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Fred Wesley is a legendary funk, soul, and jazz musician. A composer and trombone player, he moved jazz into funk and soul, making them even more funky and soulful. He was the leader of the James Brown band from 1968 - 1975. In the 1990s he toured with Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker before forming his own band. Wesley lives in South Carolina. What makes this autobiography entertaining is its wealth of details, grit, and excellent story telling. There are 57 b&w photographs in the book and a foreword by Rickey Vincent. A discography and index are included. There are 12 chapters in this fine memoiric adventure. Wesleys early years are covered in the first 3 chapters followed by chapters "James Brown" and "California." This is the type of book you find it hard to put down because there is always something else exciting just around the next page! The chapters on "Count Basie" "Hollywood Hollywood" and "JB Horns" are fascinating looks at Wesley's later years. "Star Time" is a nice concluding chapter that is both entertaining and revealing as is the entire autobiography. As a reviewer I found this an exceptionally well written and entertaining autobiography. It is an honest gritty journey of a great jazz sideman that helped change the directions of funk and soul. Fun educational entertaining -- those are the three words to sum up HIT MEFred Wesley hits all the right notes in his entertaining autobiography, HIT ME FRED: RECOLLECTIONS OF A SIDEMAN. Outspoken, humorous, detailed, this book gives the readers an indepth look at one of the sidemen of jazz!
Additional Info
- Book Title: Hit Me Fred: Recollections of a Sideman
- Author: Fred Wesley, Jr.
- Publisher: Duke University Press
- Year Published: 2002
- Book Type:: Biography
- ISBN: 822329093
- Rating: Five Stars
- Number of Pages: 344
- Link: Amazon.com
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