15 years with James Brown Band (Waldo Weathers) At Callies

Sax man shares gig tales
By Ron Wynn, rwynn@nashvillecitypaper.com

Waldo Weathers may be Nashville's greatest unrecognized saxophonist. He's certainly the only player who can say he was a star soloist and ensemble contributor for both James Brown (15 years) and Charlie Pride (10 years).

Weathers, whose new album Love Groove (Funkmasters) . Weathers describes his style as "playing straight from the heart, like a Jerry Butler on sax," and said his approach places more emphasis on soul than technique.

"I love hardcore jazz and straight-ahead players, but that's not really what I do," Weathers said. "In my experience, there are many great jazz players who will play the same way on any type of gig. They're not really able to play anything simple. I try to make listeners feel like they're almost going to church when they hear me play. There's a lot of blues and soul in my music." Just makes you listen!

Though he downplays his prowess, Weathers is both an acclaimed soloist and above-average vocalist. He's a master at working within a groove, fitting his big sound into an arrangement and still finding a way to make a distinct impression and memorable statement. Weathers has been back in Nashville since 1987, returning here from Dallas, where he spent about ten years. But inevitably, conversation swings to his days with Brown and Pride,and Johnny Taylor three American music legends whom Weathers describes as being "about as different as night and day."

"James Brown was straight up a control freak. He would punish you. I can remember going to Augusta and doing eight-hour rehearsals for two weeks straight. Brown might do a sound check that was almost as grueling as a concert. It took me a while to figure him out and get to the point where I could deal with the way he was teaching and give him what he wanted.

"Pride just wanted things to sound right and like the record. He was much easier to work with, because he'd just listen and say, 'That's what I want, just do that.' But they were all great musicians; they did share that."

Interestingly, Weathers said he didn't have to make that much of an adjustment from backing Pride to backing Brown. However, he's most excited about an upcoming Japanese tour in April with veteran James Brown band members Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo Starks and Fred Wesley.

"We're going out the last two weeks of April and its being billed as The Funkmasters featuring Fred Wesley,Or The JB's" he said. and it will be some great exposure. People tend to forget about how many great musicians played with James Brown. These type of gigs help them remember." Come check me out at
www.myspace.com/waldoweathers

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