When Jeff Beck and Mick Jagger performed together at the White House on February 21st, 2012, for the PBS special In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues, they were backed by an all-star house band assembled and led by musical director Booker T. Jones.
The core house band consisted of:
Booker T. Jones – Hammond B3 organ, keyboards, and musical director, Narada Michael Walden – Drums (having played on Beck’s 1976 Wired album and toured in Beck’s band right before this event, he locked in with Beck and Jagger effortlessly), Bobby Ross Avila – Bass, Jesse Johnson – Guitar (original guitarist of The Time), Fred Wesley – Trombone and horn arrangements (legendary James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic bandleader), Ernie Fields Jr. – Baritone and tenor saxophone , Freddie Hendrix – Trumpet
During the concert, Jagger and Beck teamed up directly with the house band on Howlin’ Wolf’s “Commit a Crime,” joined Buddy Guy and Gary Clark Jr. on Eddie Boyd’s “Five Long Years,” and closed the night alongside B.B. King, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, Trombone Shorty, and Shemekia Copeland (with President Obama briefly taking the mic) for “Sweet Home Chicago.”
