Wesley Theodore “Wes” Hensel 

Jun 10, 1917 - Dec 15, 1982

Wes Hensel of Salem, who played trumpet with the Charlie Barnet and Les Brown orchestras, has died of cancer at Salem Hospital. He was 65. Hensel, who died Wednesday, played with the Barnet band in 1946 and with Les Brown's orchestra from 1947 until 1960. As a member of the Les Brown band, Hensel played for Bob Hope's radio and television shows and accompanied Hope on his trips overseas to put on shows for U.S. servicemen.

Hensel also was with Les Brown when the orchestra played for the Steve Allen TV show. In addition, he played trumpet for briefer periods with the Boyd Raeburn and Benny Goodman orchestras. In 1973, Hensel joined the faculty of the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he organized a course on musical scoring for films. After leaving the Les Brown orchestra, Hensel performed on more than 100 musical scores for several Hollywood studios. He also played for several shows in Las Vegas.

Hensel was born in Cleveland, where he became a professional trumpet player at age 12. He was an Army veteran of World War II. He is survived by his wife, Toni, two sons, a daughter, a sister and a granddaughter

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He cut quite an imposing figure in the back row of the Herb Pomeroy Band, his shock of white hair sitting on top of his head, and making him seem even more imposing. Wes Hensel, who played one of the most demanding seats in any musical organization namely the trumpet chair, was a colorful character who loved life and living, and together with his wife Toni, did just that, right up til the end on Wednesday after he and Toni waged a constant battle with his incurable, inoperable cancer that made his life in the final months a torture track. In addition to his playing with Pomeroy, Wes was on the staff at Berklee College of Music.

This gregarious man, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, joined Charlie Barnet in 1946, then spent one year with the highly touted Boyd Raeburn band that set. some trailblazing new musical directions, and then joined Les Brown, where in addition to playing in the bands' direction, found himself writing many original Wes Hensel pieces and a good bulk of the arranging during the Brown band's heyday, including that legendary stay at the Palladium in Hollywood.

"Montoona Clipper," a tour de force for then-Brown tenorman Dave Pell and one of Les' most often requested numbers, was written and arranged by Wes. Actually, one of his personal favorites was his arrangement of "You Are Too Beautiful" for Pell, when Dave had his very successful octet in the late 50's and 60's. Wes' trumpet, being in the lead chair, had a searing quality to it, that always in impeccable taste. Proof of that can be found by playing, "Camel Driver," found in Herb Pomeroys' "'Pramlatas' Hips" album, where Wes uses the Harmon mute to full advantage and rides on top of the entire band, weaving in and out of the chart. And I suspect many, many friends and associates of Wes, will feel this immense loss even more as the months wear on, both musically and otherwise.

His determination, and uncompromising approach to both his music and his life, have left their mark on 1 the area's musical community. The horn and pen of this delightful individual, who lived life to the fullest in a warm, and, on occasion cantankerous fashion, has been stilled, but the melody and memory linger on. I, for one, will never drive down Lafayette Street in Salem, where he and Toni had their home, and fail to tip my "Nightside" cap in tribute to the late, and lamented, Wes Hensel, truly a one of a kind person. Sleep warm.

Sources: Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com and FindAGrave.com

11/12/2025 EJS

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/188023692/wesley-theodore-hensel