TromboneChat

Hello all,

I'm working on a book chapter on the trombone in various types of popular music. At the moment I'm researching "horn bands" of the last third of the 20th century and came across this photo of Stevie Wonder in a recording session. The photo is found on the website of the Motown Museum in Detroit although I have seen it in a few other places as well:

https://www.motownmuseum.org/motown-sound/the-artists/stevie-wonder/

I've reached out to the Motown Museum with a few questions but have not had a reply. So I thought I'd toss this out to TTF: does anyone know who these trombone players are/were, when this recording session may have taken place and what album/piece was being recorded? The band is probably the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit-based sidemen that played on dozens of Motown records  and had a very fluid membership (the Wiki article aptly calls the band's name a "loosely applied designation"). Allan Slutsky lists 10 trombone players who played in the Funk Brothers (see his liner notes to the great 4-CD compilation of Motown hits, "Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection"): McKinley Jackson, Bob Cousar, George Bohanon, Paul Rise, Jimmy Wilkens, Don White, Carl Raetz, Patrick Lanier, Bill Johnson, and Ed Gooch.

It may be I'm looking for a needle in a haystack but I'm hoping there is someone out there who is conversant in Detroit-based trombone players of this period. Any ideas?



Thanks very much,

-Douglas Yeo

Doug

I am a Detroit based trombone player, but this is way before my time. I recommend that you contact Johnny Trudell, who was one of the lead trumpet players with Motown. He's still very active in the Detroit music scene. I'm sure he'll be able to identify the trombone players in your picture, and answer any other questions that you may have. I don't have his contact information, but you should be able to reach him via the Detroit Federation of Musicians: (248) 569-5400.

Good luck.

Rod Glusac

There's an article here about Paul Riser (Motown trombonist, Arranger): https://www.soul-source.co.uk/articles/soul-articles/paul-riser-mba-motowns-brilliant-arranger-r2578/

That picture is identified as George Bohannon, Paul Riser, Herbie Williams (trumpet)

Thanks very much for this information; I had not seen the article about Riser. It's very helpful on a number of levels. I will also work to reach out to some older Motown-era players. Thanks for your help.

-Douglas Yeo

For those interested, I have dug up some more information about this photo.

It was taken in 1966 at the Hitsville USA studio in Detroit. The players (in addition Stevie Wonder) are, (LtoR): George Bohanan and Paul Riser (trombones), Herbie Williams (trumpet), Robert White (guitar), Hank Cosby (vibes) and James Jamerson (bass). Stevie Wonder recorded two albums that year, "Uptight" and "Down to Earth" so the photo must have been taken in sessions for one of those albums. I've ordered the albums to see if I can narrow the possible tracks based on the instrumentation. Thanks again to all who helped with this question.

-Douglas Yeo

Very cool to ID the horn players - the rhythm players are easily identifiable due to Alan Slutsky's wonderful book, and the room is definitely the "snake pit" - the heart of Hitsville, USA.

Here's one to ponder - the extent to which horn parts were "head" parts with no charting.   Early Motown lead sheets were pretty primitive - a three-stave presentation with chords, perhaps some piano voicings, and some bass line info, but also sparse for bars at a time, then punctuated with some rhythmic hits.   Guessing the horn parts were developed on the spot.

This clearly changed as the arrangements got more complex - strings, orchestral horns and effects, etc - I wanna know who did the horn chart on Valerie Simpson's "I Can't Give Back the Love that I Feel for You," performed by Rita Wright.    Still sends chills up my spine whenever I hear it - that weren't no head chart!

McKinley Jackson is the musical director for the Tempataions.  He's on Facebook and might can answer your questions.  Nice guy. 

Quote from: EdGrissom on Apr 22, 2017, 05:07AMMcKinley Jackson is the musical director for the Tempataions.  He's on Facebook and might can answer your questions.  Nice guy. 

He would be a great guy to contact. He may take a bit to get back to you, he travels quite a bit (just worked with him in Muskogee last thursday.) If one needed his phone number I could probably make a few phone calls and acquire it.

Quote from: EdGrissom on Apr 22, 2017, 05:07AMMcKinley Jackson is the musical director for the Tempataions.  He's on Facebook and might can answer your questions.  Nice guy. 

He would be a great guy to contact. He may take a bit to get back to you, he travels quite a bit (just worked with him in Muskogee last thursday.) If one needed his phone number I could probably make a few phone calls and acquire it.