FRED WESLEY

Fred Wesley is back. With his first new album in more than a decade, he’s gone back to the first music he ever heard: The Blues.

“From the Blues and Back” takes the listener on a journey that begins with the style of Blues the toddler Fred felt vibrating through his bedroom wall from the juke joint next door to his grandmother's house. It circles through the jazz that became his first love and is infused throughout with the singularly funky “horniness” for which he became famous with James Brown and George Clinton. No one arranges horns like Fred and nowhere is his signature style better showcased than on this new album, which features the excellent cast of players that has made up his band and toured with him for more than 30 years.

Launched by fans through an Indiegogo campaign back in 2015 (thank you, all who contributed!), the project was recorded in analog by master engineer Little Konzett at his Little Big Beat Studio in Liechtenstein. Konzett also served as co-producer with Fred and the album is being released on his label LoEnd Records. It features classics by artists including Champion Jack Dupree and Tommy Tucker along with originals by Fred and other band members.