Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith Jr. has been an integral part of the Miami Heat’s effort to be crowned NBA champions in 2023. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
By Timothy Cox,
Editor-n-Chief
Seventies Soul Report.com
BETHESDA, MD — A throng of soul music lovers filled the seats at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Theater on a recent summer night in the DMV.
Both featured acts were a throw-back to the legacy sounds of the late, great James Brown.
Blackbyrds played a 2-hour gig at Keystone Korner, in honor of their 50th Anniversary Finale Tour. Sat., September 14, 2024 in downtown Baltimore.
Opening act was Robert “Mousey” Thompson’s James Brown Experience – Mousey being the former drummer for Godfather of Soul. In addition the main attraction, Fred Wesley & The New JBs, complemented Mousey’s 10-member power band. comprised mostly of DC musicians, along with Thompson being a lifelong DC native.
An exciting night of RnB, Funk and Soul was displayed throughout the night, first with Mousey’s group offering an exemplary sampling of JB Soul, complete with a lead singer James Brown copy-cat performer named “Mr. Cooper.” While the band offered the similar funk and power very much like the original JB Band, the lead singer often fell short – mainly because of his knack for adding way too much unwarranted humor to his JB performance style. Very reminiscent of Eddie Murphy’s disrespectful 1980s act, when he did his silly “Hot Tub” rendition.
Meanwhile, Fred Wesley’s group busted the stage with a three-part horn section reminiscent of the days when Fred, Maceo Parker, Alfred “PeeWee”Ellis, and Sinclair Pinckney controlled the hornlines for the James Brown outfit, and Fred and Maceo’s days with George Clinton and P-Funk, Horney Horns and Bootsy’s Rubber Band.
Backstage, Timothy Cox and Fred Wesley compare Georgia musician notes. Wesley is a Columbus, Ga. native and Cox is a former Augusta, Ga. resident and bandleader.June 22, 2024.
These days an elderly, three-piece suited “Deacon” Fred, mostly sits during the gig, no longer with his patented black trombone from the good ole JB days. He’s accompanied by a fine tenor saxist named Jay Rodriguez of NYC and Cincy-Kentucky bred trumpeter named Gary Winters – and man, can these cats blow. Jay is a New York jazzer, while Winters got his chops by formerly playing with Bootsy, he said. Other New JBs are rooted by Pittsburgh-born Dwayne Dolphin on bass guitar and Albany, Georgia soul guitarist, Reggie Ward;. DC-bred keyboardist Coleman Woodson III and the diverse drummer, Bruce Cox, round-out Wesley’s flaming-hot powerful unit.
Fred handled all the vocals on this night, including “House Party” and “Pass The Peas” – the all-time JBs’ classic from the mid-1970s.
Their June 22, 2024 gig in Bethesda (suburban DC), ended their tour before the band were to regroup before setting off for a European voyage for Fall 2024.
