I remember being really upset when I heard that Prince had died. Not just because I never got a chance to see him live—although that was definitely part of it—but it was more that I was sad that we would never get to see where he would go next. Prince was like Bowie in that he was always pushing and evolving and reinventing himself and his music. Of course unlike Prince, Bowie knew he was dying and was able to complete one final piece of work, the stunning Blackstar. Prince had no warning so all we can do is speculate and wonder how he would have blown our minds and raised our consciousness with whatever he was going to do next.
I recently came across a fantastic recording of Prince playing a bunch of jazz and funk improvisations. It’s called the Loring Park Sessions ’77 and I couldn’t find much about it, other than the eight instrumental tracks are all untitled and were recorded in 1977 at the Loring Park studio owned by Owen Husney, Prince’s first manager. The other players were bassist André Cymone and drummer Bobby Z, who both went on to become members of Prince’s first band. The quality of the playing is stunning. Prince was just 19 years old at the time of the recordings.
Here are a couple other clips of Prince in top form:
Prince at Super Bowl XLI
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Don't forget the afterparty he did in 1988 in The Hague, Paard van Troje. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Kvu6T79E5LM&feature=shares