Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock & Others Honor Prince & More At White House

Last night a talented group of musicians came together for a performance the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert held at the White House. Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock, Buddy Guy, Chick Corea and several others performed for President Barack Obama and the First Lady in Washington D.C.

The all-star concert also saw performances by various lineups featuring the likes of Buddy Guy, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Esperanza Spalding, Pat Matheny, Sting, Al Jarreau, Zakir Hussain, Christian McBride, Jamie Cullum, Diana Krall, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, Zakir Hussain, Brian Blade, Terri Lyne Carrington and many more. Franklin started the concert playing piano with Hancock on keys, McBride on bass and Blade on drums for a rendition of Leon Russell’s “A Song for You.”

Later, Hancock spoke about the late musician Prince and then joined Glasper, Martin and others jamming on an instrumental version of The Purple One’s “1999” before the Queen Of Soul returned to lead the ensemble on stage through a brief rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” The tribute to Prince can be seen in the video below: