That's Prince on the keys and guitars, along with Andre Cymone on bass and Robert B. Rivkin (aka, "Bobby Z") on drums from an unreleased 1977 instrumental studio recording sessions at Loring Park.
Here's an article from The Current that goes into more description:
The Loring Park Sessions have taken on a certain mystical quality for Prince fans in the last few years, ever since Husney found the tapes in his storage space and had them digitized. The sessions were recorded just a year before Prince would release his debut album, For You, and were captured in that hazy and heart-pounding space between when Prince had signed to Warner Bros. and when he would make his first step onto the national stage.
With Prince on keys and guitar, André on bass, and Bobby Z on drums, the trio pummel through a genre-bending set of eight instrumental songs that swirl together funk, disco, R&B and jazz. The songs sound more like a group of Los Angeles session players laying down tracks for a major studio than a group of teenagers just feeling out their vibe as a live band.
In my office there is a group of folks who like to share great movies, music, and television shows with one another. Since the advent of remote work, I started a Microsoft Teams channel to keep those conversations going - albeit at a distance. We call it the "Entertainment Swap".
Earlier this week one member of the group posted the above YouTube clip of the so-called Loring Park Sessions. It is not an overstatement to say that this BLEW. MY. MIND.
Some truly great grooves here. Add to it that it's instrumental, and my sentiments a few years ago regarding Prince's musicianship are bolstered even more:
Prince was the type of musician that didn’t need fancy production or guest musicians. He could play any instrument in the room. Better than anyone else in the room.
Sure, he had a huge impact on popular music. But, more importantly, Prince was the rare pop artist that above all else was a really good musician.
You bet he was. I think that this is a great way to start your weekend.
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