The JB horns are Maceo Parker (alto Sax), Fred Wesley (Trombone), and
PeeWee Ellis (Tenor Sax). Each at some point was James's bandleader and
feautured soloist. PeeWee co-wrote such classics as Cold Sweat, Mother
Popcorn, and others. Fred fronted the fameous JB's. Maceo's name is part
of James's music: "Maceo - I want you to blow!" The three of them have had
enormous influence on the Brown sound....i'd go as far as to say that
they've had as much influence on the music as James himself....
THE JB HORNS:
the JB Horns have only had three offical albums....
The JB Horns (Gramavision) - Not a very good album, IMHO. Poor production
and not the greatest tunes make this album sound a littler bit dated. The
musicianship on the part of the JB horns is immpecable
and soulful.
Funky Good Time (live) (gramavision) - Live in Tokyo on the tour following
the above album. Again, the production isn't fabulous, and the band isn't
the best (jim payne's drumming isn't my favorite...). However, there are
more funky tunes, including "Funky Good Time", "Soul Power", and Fred's
"House Party."
I Like It Like That (Instinct) - released recently, a good disc with a
modern feel. The funk leans towards the acid-jazzy/hip-hop vibe, true to
the label that produced it. Great playing, good tunes, and good
production make this one a safe bet, although certainly not the most
typical offering from the JB horns. Got a very london acid jazz vibe, and
features UK session names like Crispin Taylor, Ernie McKone, and Jaye
Ella Ruth.
MACEO PARKER :
Maceo's funky alto is ALL that. most of his solo stuff features both fred
and peewee too....
Mo' Roots (Verve) - Very jazzy in a soulful vibe. One of my favorite
album of all time. Not a bad tune on it...think rare groove kind of
jazz/funk. Features PeeWee's tune "The Chicken," one of the most
underrated funk-jazz tunes in history, that always gets covered but never
recognized (Jaco does it on The Birthday Concert...). Fred is featured as
well, and Larry Goldings plays Organ, Bill Stewart on Drums, and Rodney
Jones on Guitar.
Roots Revisited (verve) - The same crew, with same feel as mo roots...I
don't like the tunes as much, but it's a sound album, nonetheless.
Southern Exposure (label?) - More funk-oriented maceo in several
settings: some tunes are with the JB horns (doing jazzy stuff), some with
The Rebirth Brass Band (Real new orleans second-line brass band funk!),
some with a small combo featuring two members of The Meters (leo
nocentelli, guitar, and george porter jr, bass). A good, funky fresh album.
Live On Planet Groove - This live album is actually a JB horns album,
featuring Maceo, Fred, and Peewee together and equally. The playing on
the album is amazing, and the band is incredible. The tunes a very funk,
ranging from James Brown tunes, to Maceo originals, and a couple of
covers. A must have funk album! 76 minutes of sheer groove.
FRED WESLEY:
Fred's solo stuff tends to lean towards the straighter, jazzier side. His
Trombone is amazing throughout it all.
Comme Ci, Comme Ca (Minor Music/Antilles) - a really jazzy album,
featuring Maceo, Karl Denson of Greyboy fame on tenor. Decent album, with
some standards and some originals, including Maceo's "Just Like That,"
which is probably the funkiest I've ever heard jazz get....a real
acid-jazz progenitor...
New Friends (minor music/antilles) - One of my favorite jazz albums of
all time. The tunes are generally pretty much traditional jazz (except
for the last cut, "D-Cup and Up"). Great musicianship and good tunes.
Features some big names: Maceo, Geri Allen on piano, and a couple of
tunes that he does with a trombone trio featuring the great Robin Eubanks
and Steve Turre. A Great album...definitely pick it up if you are a jazz
lover.
To Someone (Good Hope) - This album, listed as The Fred Wesley Quartet,
is somewhat obscure. The production is weak, and the packaging is
seriously low budget (the tunes are listed out of order...). However, the
playing is very solid, and worth checking out. Straight jazz only.
Swing and Be Funky (Minor Music) - live, with a small band that features
karl denson on tnr. sax and hugh ragin on trmpt. The tunes are diverse,
including a couple of fred's jazz repetoire and some funk stuff. The cuts
are all quite long (On Green Dolphin Street is 21 minutes long!!!), but
the playing is pretty good. Worth checking out....
Amalgamtion (minor music) - fred's latest, featuring the same band as on
Swing And Be Funky. More funk oriented than his other albums, with decent
tunes...not my favorite, but good. Check out the cover of Wham's
"Careless Whisper"....odd. ;)
FRED WESLEY AND THE HORNY HORNS:
In the seventies, fred and maceo left James Brown to join the p-funk mob.
They founded the horny horns along with Richard "Kush" griffith and Rick
Gardner, both on trumpet. They act as the horns on most of the prime
P-funk and Bootsy stuff. Their music has just been re-released on CD by
George Clinton himself. The Horny Horns continue to back up various
people, including Bootsy, and Dee-lite, but usually it's just maceo and
fred doing the work on these projects...
A Blow For Me and a Toot To You (AEM) - A solid album, really just being
another Parliament record with the horns up front. features a version of
the p-funk classic "Up For the Down Stroke," plus two remixes of cuts on
the album with a real hip-hop vibe. If you like maceo and fred, and you
like p-funk, BUY THIS.
Say Blow By Blow Backward (AEM) - more like "A blow for me....", with two
more remixes and some great tunes. Also essential if you dig on the funk
mob of parliament.
The Final Blow (AEM) - unrealeased and rare material...not the strongest
offering. Not rocommended unless you are a big fan. The musicianship is
strong, but the album is weak at points.
PEEWEE ELLIS:
PeeWee has only had two solo offerings, spending more time than the
others as james's bandleader(he co-wrote such classics as Cold Sweat and
Mother Popcorn), and then moving on to be Van Morrison's musical director (an odd paring).....
Blues Mission (Gramavision) - An odd album, focusing on funky tunes, but
falling generally short with poor production and weak songs. The
musicians are a strange group, including Clyde "Funky Drummer"
Stubblefield of James's band, Jean Paul Bourrely on guitar, and Darryl
Jones (who toured with the Rolling Stones) on bass. Not terrible, but not
the best.
Sepia Tonality (label?) - released in the last year or so, the album
features great musicians but is very straight, quiet jazz. It's more like
music to seduce someone to....good playing, but IMHO not so enjoyable.
SO ANYWAY, there's my take on the whole scene. Please feel free to take
or discard my advice as you wish, and i'd appreciate to hear what other
list members have to say about my comments.....
Also, if you can ever check out these guys live, DO IT. I saw Maceo in
Boston this year, and he played with Fred the whole gig...probably the
best show I've ever seen. The two of them are my idol, anyway.....
Finally, I've heard rumors that there is a bootleg circulating of The JB
Horns live with the Meters, live in concert. If anyone knows anything
about this, please let me know....
Keep the flow, groovenibblets -
Chock Full of Funknutty Goodness -
Z-Love...
On Thu, 23 May 1996, K. Whilden wrote:
> Hey Folks,
> How about some advice on the JB Horns. I've seen their discs, for $18.99 a
> pop, but I have no idea of the relative quality of their material. Iam
> guessing it is excellent, but I would appreciate a quick explanation of
> their style, and their relationship to james brown himself, etc... Also if
> you could recommend one of their particularly good discs, I would be quite
> appreciative.
>
> ___________________
> / Kevin Whilden \
> |Dept. of Geosciences \___
> |University of Washington \
> |kwhilden@u.washington.edu|
> \________________________/
>
>