I have been blessed over the years to meet and play for some of my musical inspirations. Quite a few from The James Brown Revue including Martha High and Maceo Parker in recent years at Under The Bridge in ‘blue is the colour manor Chelsea SW6. But having interviewed Fred Wesley about 3 years back I was looking forward to hearing him for the first time. Fred is up there in his own right with another amazing trombonist the late Crusader’s co founder Wayne Henderson and to interview play and then meet him was humbling. Given “Blessed Blackness” by his creator Fred and his new JB’s reminds all 400 plus people in attendance why he is one of the smoothest and funkiest horn players on the planet. Myself and Akin were in our element getting our albums and in my case also getting my interview with him signed, as well as being impressed with his “Slick” like Ramsey Lewis horn chops. Fred did some of the old grooves like “Chicken”, “Gimme Some More” & “Pass The Pea’s” and some new fan dangle funk bits and the brothers got soul for sure. Included in this blog is a link to my Cameo “Funk Funk” set which I enjoyed immensely, making me think of doing an out an out funk night so watch this space Ahite!!
Remember Remember the 10th September as thats when I return to Throwbaak with Dj 279 at an old stomping ground I frequented in 1980. Dj 279 were well aware of each other previous to our dj venture in Greece around 1998-1999. We shared an apartment and did a few clubs together working for Zoo Entertainment. Apart from the late DJ Swing and Shortee Blitz at that point in my life, I had never seen a Dj scratch and mix effortlessly like DJ 279. The mans got ill skills for sure and he invited me about 2 years back to do Throwbaak at its previous home in POW Brixton. So this ‘Snoop & Dre “Next Episode” I’m certainly looking forward to..”Going back to my roots” like Lamont Dozier musically and in my early dancing days at The 100 Club. I’ll defo be digging in the crates and dusting off some vinyl me thinks for the is Gene Chandler “Get Down” on an Oliver Cheatham “Get Down Saturday Night” in the UK’s capital..Sooooooh get your Taste Of Honey “Boogie Oogie Oogie” shoes on so you can “Dance Dance Dance” like Chic and “Keep Your Body Workin” like Kleeer You coming or what?
Greetings, I will be spinning ahead of one of the most important trombonist Fred Wesley who along side the late Wayne Henderson pioneered the funkier side of jazz with that big band sound with a touch of “Blessed Blackness’ Saturday 30th July 2016 is where the SW6 “House Party” will be at, so I advise you to get your tickets when Fred Wesley & The New JB’s will be “Breaking Bread” with a touch of “Rice & Ribs” and “More Peas”. Now you know “Funky Music Is My Style” and “I Wanna Get Down” with some “Doin’ It To Death” beats so make sure your there if you don’t want to be square!! Here is some of my interview with Fred in The Soul Survivors Magazine.
You obviously knew of James Brown’s repertoire as he was for at least ten years before already known as the hardest working man in show business.
Actually I never thought I would play with him as I wasn’t a fan of his music. We knew him as a showman and called him a screaming hollering sissy who wore a lot of make up dancing around the stage. Me and my piers we unimpressed with James Brown and thought he was a clown. Again it wasn’t a gig I really wanted as I’d have rather played with Horace Silver, Art Blakey or Cannonball Adderley. But it was a gig and I was married at the time with two daughters and still had aspirations to go to New York or LA and be discovered as a jazz trombonist, as by now my chops was good but I got stuck in James Browns band. Facebook event page
Greetings on this special ‘Fro’back Friday’ “It Was A Good Day” back in 2006, because “The Soul Survivors Magazine” with the permission of Dave Fraser, was officially first distributed at Soul Village weekender this ‘Fro’back Friday’ 10 years ago. This is the front cover of a venture founded by Anna Marshall and myself as the ‘Info provider for the soul survivor”. There are no “Words I Manifest” like Gang Starr that can explain the journey this magazine has been on to still be here in the digital and technical age we live in. All I can say is “Thank You, Thank You” like Roy Ayers and the late Wayne Henderson for all the attention over the last decade. This next part I thought hard about whether to share but as an unorthodox journalist I have the “licence to thrill at will” and “it’s my part and I’ll cry if I want too” :O)
That song title “It Was A Good Day” an Ice Cube rap classic with soul sampled The Isley Brothers classic “Footsteps In The Dark” and depicted the typical day in the life of many dark skinned “Boyz In The Hood”, a film that Ice Cube providentially starred in circa 1991. It’s just a song right? Nah it’s ‘REAL TALK’ because sadly it paints the reality of surviving a catalogue of Tribe Called Quest “Scenario”’s, if you’ve grown up in the projects or The Fatback Band “Concrete Jungle” environment in the USA, initially but in any part of the world. That song was made in 1993 and 23 years later it’s a prophecy that unfortunately was not the desired outcome for two African American black men In Louisiana and Minnesota. Not only were they ‘allegedly’ assassinated excessively and unnecessarily,the evidence of their brutal death was has been filmed and broadcast on the various “So Shall Mad Ya” (Social Media) platforms. This is deep so please read on or switch off at this point because from here I rhyme and get Grime like UK hip hop!!
I was very moved today by a post from my fellow Spurs fan and soul survivors bro from anutha mo Cav Manning now residing in Bushwick Brooklyn USA. Your words “Touch Me In The Morning’ Like Diana Ross today bro so “I Still Got Love For Ya” like KAM. I was only having this same conversation last night about about the my own awareness. I know we are living in the subliminal age of the logical becoming the illogical and the illogical been seen as being logical. And I’m sure Roy Walker of TV program ‘Catchphrase’ used to say “Say what you see”, but are you seriously telling me like Pleasure that “I’m Mad”, and that this is a case of a Talking Heads classic “Seen And Not Seen”? James Brown said it in “Funky President” “People, people we got to get over before we go under”. This really is a Kool & The Gang ”Summer Madness” situation we have here.
Angie Stone in our forthcoming interview for issue 65 explains why she did the song “Brutha” to highlight to those who do not understand or are ignorant to the plight of the African American, and their fight for a Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five “Survival”. Many of you reading this have an affinity with the “Sound Of Universal Love”(SOUL) and it’s musical offsprings, albeit, jazz, funk soul, disco,latin, house RNB, hip hop, rap jungle or broken beat. Now we are all soul survivors aren’t we? If you really want an insight to “Know The Ledge” like Rakim about the situation in the USA, I urge you to listen to Main Source’s “Friendly Game Of Baseball” sampling Lou Donaldson’s “Pot Belly”, KRS1’s ‘Whoop whoop thats the “Sound Of The Police”, Ice Cube’s You “Ain’t Gonna Take My Life” or Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”.
The songs three Hip Hop and the other pre Be Bop speak of the brutality carried out by those swearing an allegiance wearing certain “uniforms” to protect their way of life, in the name of the USA flag. They do this with an ‘alleged’ 007 licence to kill black people and watch the RED blood splatter across their WHITE and BLUE attire, like ‘Black Lives DON’T Matter’. Is that really what the colours of the AmeriKKKan flag really represents? It’s kicking off like The Jets and The Sharks in West Side Story in JR Ewing territory Dallas with 5 officers dead, because for some disgruntled members of the community ‘allegedly’ like Barbara Streisand and Donna Summer “Enough Is Enough” . As a humanitarian any life lost is a life lost and I’m saddened in more ways that I can say, and my full hearts cup..has runeth over, hence then outpour.
I saw some footage from an African American police officer who believed she was doing right for her community and acknowledges there are epidemic issue within the black community, but when she saw the footage “Over & Over” like Shalamar, she felt ashamed and understood the outrage because she said if that was her son she couldn’t tell you what she would do as African American mother. She advised anyone who was caucasian that worked with her, if they have any racial issue to take the uniform off and delete her. These are the types of The Family “Screams Of Passion” that are being aroused on this emotive matter. As one of those Curtis Mayfield “We People Who Are Darker Than Blue” here in the UK of Jamaican and African ancestry, I guess I’m a Leroy Hutson “Lucky Fellow” not to be experiencing what’s happening to many of my long distance sister, cousins and brothers from anuva mutha. But let’s not get this twisted as JB said “People Wake Up And Live” because what we see on the “Tell Lie Vision” has a degree of positive and negative information. It depends if you understand or overstand what Jack Nicholson meant in a “Few Good Men” film, when Tom Cruise demanded “the truth”. Jack Nicholson bellows with attitude “You can’t handle the truth”..As a flip on a Shakespeare Hamlet quote “To See or not to see ..that is the question” fellow soul survivors..Enjoy and have a blessed day..Fitzroy
Greetings, I will be spinning ahead of one of the most important trombonist Fred Wesley who along side the late Wayne Henderson pioneered the funkier side of jazz with that big band sound with a touch of “Blessed Blackness’ Saturday 30th July 2016 is where the SW6 “House Party” will be at, so I advise you to get your tickets when Fred Wesley & The New JB’s will be “Breaking Bread” with a touch of “Rice & Ribs” and “More Peas”. Now you know “Funky Music Is My Style” and “I Wanna Get Down” with some “Doin’ It To Death” beats so make sure your there if you don’t want to be square!! Here is some of my interview with Fred in The Soul Survivors Magazine
You obviously knew of James Brown’s repertoire as he was for at least ten years before already known as the hardest working man in show business.
Actually I never thought I would play with him as I wasn’t a fan of his music. We knew him as a showman and called him a screaming hollering sissy who wore a lot of make up dancing around the stage. Me and my piers we unimpressed with James Brown and thought he was a clown. Again it wasn’t a gig I really wanted as I’d have rather played with Horace Silver, Art Blakey or Cannonball Adderley. But it was a gig and I was married at the time with two daughters and still had aspirations to go to New York or LA and be discovered as a jazz trombonist, as by now my chops was good but I got stuck in James Browns band.
Essentially its evident to me that jazz and be bop was your first love(It was). This is apparent on albums where you performed as The JB’s or Fred Wesley And The JB’s. I noticed around 1968 from an album James Brown “Directs And Dances With The James Brown Band The Popcorn” which I believe you were on, that it’s predominantly instrumental and very jazzy in its arrangements.
Does it have “Popcorn”, “In The Middle” and “Why Did I Treat You So Bad” on it? (Yes). Well thats more Pee Wee Ellis on that album and performing on it I learnt from Pee Wee how to integrate the jazz and the funk together to make a new form of music. My expertise came in around “Soul Power”, “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved”, “Get On The Good Foot”, “The Big Payback” and “Hot Pants” as Pee Wee Had left by then. Yes the jazz influence enhanced James Brown’s sound with the JB’s and I added my own stuff to it .You hear me totally arranging on “Breaking Bread” and “Damn Right I’m Somebody”.
Thats what I thought you can clearly hear how James Brown was moulding as you describe the jazz and the funk elements on albums like The JB’s “Food For Thought”. You can hear on your solo’s like on “Blessed Blackness” that you had come into your own. You wrote that with Charles Bobbit didn’t you?
Well I wrote it myself years before I joined James Brown and Charles is credited but was not involved. “Wine Spot” and “Blessed Blackness” are written by me only, “Pass The Peas”, “Gimme Some More”, “Hot Pant’s Road” and “To My Brother” I co wrote. But James Brown would put other peoples names on the track so they could earn extra money and Charles Bobbit was credited on a lot of tracks which he inspired but didn’t write. For example I just got a royalty statement from Sony about the movie scores we did and his name is all over it.
You said you wrote “Blessed Blackness” way before it was recorded on the “Food For Thought” album. What inspired the song and the title?
It was my first wife who was black and a very sweet girl when I married her and I wrote that tune for her because she was blessed blackness.
On the “Doing It To Death” album a favourite of mine I really liked “Sucker” the jazz number where you sound comfortable in the jazz mode.(I know what you mean). What did you think when you saw the cover of “Damn Right I’m Somebody”?
I didn’t know what to think at first with the old lady on the front although I knew it was portraying us being black and proud and saying damn right I’m somebody. But I didn’t understand the picture and its reality at the time but now I do because its about our roots from slavery till now.
You wrote “Damn Right I’m Somebody” and “Blow Ya Head” a big tune that was sampled by Public Enemy..
I tell you a funny story bout that. It was already a finished tune before James Brown came into the studio and added the moog. He saw the moog in the corner and asked “What is that?” I said “Mr Brown it a moog and we gonna try it out on a few songs” . He said “ Fire it up and let me hear how it sounds”. So we turned it on and he just started messing with it hearing this wah wah sound. He instructed us to run the track and thats how the moog stayed on the track. To be honest thats what made the track a hit as we had not intended to put the moog on the track in the first place.
Tickets for Fred Wesley @ Under The Bridge
Greetings on this pinch punch first of the month and defo no returns 1st July 2016 Froback Friday. There certainly seems to be a massive “Ball Of Confusion” like The Temptations for peoples state of mind here in the UK since last weeks double Brexit and Punch & Judy show antics within politics in both the red and the blue camps. It’s been an emotive week of more twist and turns than a theme park roller coaster or an out of control tornado. But there is no Leroy Burgess “Confusion” about my digital memory of today’s post. 1986 was a vintage year that would impact on my life unknowingly for various reason. It was the spring and summer of that year when Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke corrupted my not so innocent mind with the ‘sexsational’ at the time film “Nine And A Half Weeks”, but I just threw that in to get your attention.
Seriously 1986 was the year I started djing in the west end of London at a night club called “Oxfords” at the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street, that apparently used to be Studio Valbourne, or so I’ve been advised. I made my debut alongside my fellow Pleasure loving music enthusiast Norman Cummins, on an Easter Bank Holiday Monday in April 1986, after contacting a fellow soul survivor comrade Joel Karamath, who had access to hiring the club. In short a now dearly departed and talented friend Debbie Miller, was leaving our front of house team at the musical “Starlight Express’s” home venue The Apollo Victoria Theatre, to do her first professional dance job. She was well loved and we managed with little time to pack the club out with those who were going to miss her presence. Joel teamed myself and Norman up with two guys I’d seen out but never previously conversed with Wayne Malcolm and Tony Francis who did the early set. This was the providential start of an Indeep “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”
The night was an overwhelming success and as a bonus both myself and Norman were paid £50 each, when we were only doing this free for the love of a friend. A lightbulb went off in Joel’s head and he asked if we (myself ands Norman) would be interested in working with him and the other two dj’s, plus another who wasn’t present that night, on a regular Saturday night residency. I was most certainly interested and about 6 weeks later we got the nod it was actually going to happen. On the opening Saturday night in June 1986 it was then that I met this young man in the photo for the very first time. His name is Paul Martin and as collective of 6 we dj’d under the guise initially as “The Buzzboyz Inc”. This name concept as I’ve been advised was originally devised by Tony Francis who had been djing with his friend Wayne previously under this umbrella and working with Joel on various events. That may fill in the blanks as to why I was known initially as “Fitzroy from The Buzzboys” which became “Fitzroy The Buzzboy” which eventually morphed into “Da Buzzboy” Fitzroy, coined around 1998 by Summer Soulstice’s Jamie Topham then working in club promotions at Arista Records.
To cut a longer story short Norman left early after landing a dancing job abroad and the remaining Enid Blyton “Famous Five” did various gigs together until I left in February 1989 and went as Napoleon Solo free agent. Paul Martin who lived local to me in Wembley west London when I met him, was selling 7 inch imports with his mate a record dealer Mark, to some of the top underground warehouse and ‘Rare Groove’ funk Dj’s in London. I remember buying quite a few things like Kellee Patterson’s “I’m Gonna Love You More” on a 7 inch promo and The Chakachas “Jungle Fever” promo from him at his mums house. Paul went on to make his own history working at Steve Jervier’s Black Market Records in D’Arblay Street Soho, and was later snapped up by Giles Peterson to work at the newfound UK label division of Talking Loud. Myself and Paul forged our own musical paths outside of the our initial collective foundation, and over the years we have crossed paths many times. It’s always been good and mutually respectful whenever I see Paul when he is out and a “Jeremy Beadle About”. These days we tend to bump into each other at private industry parties, like last year at Louie Vega’s Ministry of Sound album launch, and on Tuesday 28th June 2016 at Angie Stone’s soiree in St Martin Lane’s The Library Gentleman’s club in WC2. I asked my IT consultant and magazine photographer Anna B to take this photograph, as it suddenly dawned upon me at Angie’s gathering, that Paul and I first met and dj’d together 30 years ago..That impromptu meeting was no accident. Happy 30th to us in my 30th year djing and 10 years in the making of The Soul Survivors Magazine that first hit the streets this month in 2006..”Happy Days” like Fonzie..”Ayyyyeeehhh” and a set of double thumbs up!!
If you’re looking for places to go over the next few weeks check out the latest “info provider for the soul survivor” news bulletin Something For the Weekend!! Click on the image to see whats up and coming!!
Here are extracts from my interview with Bill Curtis a few years back ahead of the Fatback appearing at CampSoul in August
I’ve spoken to Robert Khallis Bell of Kool & The Gang, Larry Blackmon of Cameo and Randy Muller of Brass Construction who all confirm that there was a big street funk fraternity out of New York and the East coast.
That’s right and Fatback opened the doors for that so the record companies wanted their own versions of that. What happened at Perception was the label was going broke and our first two albums just about earned him his money he borrowed from family. He was going bankrupt and said it nothing personal but he left us stranded without a deal. Whilst shopping for a new deal and coming out of Polydor records my lawyer hooked us up with Spring Records after looking at the dubious contract that Mercury was offering.
I remember when I hooked up wit you at Southport 2005 you told me that your track “Dance Girl” was controversial with The Rimshots and you were going to sue them, why was that?
They stole it and took my tune and didn’t pay me royalties and thats another one that came out of “Going To See My Baby” you can tell. Remember what I told you earlier bout the formula? That’s what I used throughout my Fatback career.
But they did credit you on the track eventually
Yeah they did but I didn’t get no money. Not one penny but we worked out an agreement. Joe Robinson wasn’t the most up and up person in the world but he paid me back after I sent some people who represented me to talk to Joe and he ensured we performed with The Moments whenever they did a show.
After the 3rd and last Perception album you join Spring/ Polydor’s Event label. “Mr Bass Man” is a killer but “Keep On Stepping” (That was the big record on there and we’ll be doing that when we come over) and “Wicky Wacky” would become the club anthems. By this time the bass lines of Johnny Flipping would simulate one of a reggae ilk on both those tracks. How much did the Caribbean and reggae influence have on the band as much later this would be evident with Spanish Hustle and Night Fever?
Remember what I told you I got my beat from ?? It came from the reggae from the calypso but what I did was put a 2 and 4 back beat to it which the reggae didn’t have. So by us playing cabaret dances the people loved calypso music and with that New Orleans feel that influenced the Fatback Sound. Now if you listen to “Going To See My Baby”, four tunes came out of that like “Wicky Wacky” and “Bus Stop”. At night we’d play them tunes differently and never the same way twice. So when we went to the studio we’d written another tune on top of it and perform it unconsciously but we were not aware of that. When you have a band thats working every weekend they are writing tunes in between.
“Raising Hell” and “Yum Yum” albums with their sexy funk disco, jazz and Caribbean flavours remain two of my favourite albums that endured a degree of commercial success. “Raising Hells’s” “Bus Stop” created a dance craze to be capitalized 5 years later by another bullet on the future “14 Karat” album. How did you receive that adulation as this did catapult the group into the commercial arena more-so I guess in the UK than the USA?
I never knew until Gerry Thomas came to the UK with Jimmy Castor and said they playing the hell out of “Bus Stop”. When I first came to England I toured with a little van and did bars cabaret places and in the little country towns and built my own following before I did big concerts .
I was contacted by the lovely Svetlana of Robomagic to advertise in our Soul Survivor Magazine, Nile Rodger’s very first Fold Fest of many to come events in Fulham Palace, “Apparently Nothing” like the YD’s anything short of being the first live event to be held there. So I visited Friday’s instalment which fortunately was a very Bill Withers “Lovely Day” and saw the lovely slim and trim new and improved Alf aka Alison Moyet of Yazoo. She still sounds good and I was a fan of her back in the day, so it was the icing on the cake when she did “Don’t Go”. 
Chic featuring Niles, came on and did two hours of all the classics including “I Want Your Love”, “Everybody Dance”, “Le Freak” and a fave of mine “Chic Cheer”. The audience was mature with some young attendee’s loving Nile’s education on his history writing David Bowie’s “Lets Dance, Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and “Soup For One” the sample to Modjo’s “Lady”. I had turntable duties at another all day charity festival on Saturday so I missed out but returned like the prodigal son on Sunday. This was a lot busier even with the threat of potential rain, Fold Fest drew in so many more people. I caught up with Bluey of Incognito before he went on stage and with his universal Benetton loving outfit, they were making sure everyone had “Smilin’ Faces” performing classic old pieces lil “Don’t You Worry Bout A Thing”, “Colibre” and The very moving 90’s classic “Still A Friend Of Mine”. Showcasing the groups vocal talent Incognito performed new material from their new album which seem to go down well.
After Grace’s appreciated performance and some seductive disco and funk sounds from the DJ (soz couldn’t find your name on the flyer), Chic returned back on stage ensuring that everybody did “Dance Dance Dance” as we awaited the arrival of the USA’s precious soul emerald, the “Black Diamond” Angie Stone. Prior to her arrival on stage it had been drizzling but not enough for people to leave. Angie had a 10 hour flight after a performance from Chicago and left Heathrow in the UK 8.30pm and was due on stage at 9.10pm. With a few minutes overtime Angie came on and her first song aptly was “No More Rain” and providentially the rain had stopped. You couldn’t make that up!! I was sitting with my Triple A pass right in the photographer pit happy snappin’ more than than Lord Litchfield and David Bailey. Me and my mate JD toasted Angie when she sang the universally celebrated Willie Hutch Brother’s “Gonna Work It Out” anthem “Brutha” with impromptu solo’s from Nile Rodgers and the
keyboardist. Angie sang “I Wish I Didn’t Miss You Anymore” to close her session before Nile’s performed “Le Freak” with an entourage of fans on the stage. I managed to catch a selfie with Niles, who I interviewed 5 years plus back, and caught up with Angie yesterday 27th June for a personal interview. Filmed live by the multifaceted talents of Fair Trade For Music’s Anna B, this interview will be showcased on this website as well as featured as editorial in the forthcoming August & September issue of The Soul Survivors Magazine. Here you can see the delight on Angie B’s face when I presented her with a drawing I did last year, with an expression that says “I Wanna Thank You”. You’re most welcome Angie Stone. Big thanks to Steve Ripley of Soul Food for organising a chat with Angie Stone
