NPG-Q

NPG Q (short for the NPG Quartet), also known as NPJazz, was a short-lived American jazz band formed by Prince in July 2014 and disbanded by October, after John Blackwell left to tour with D'Angelo and his newly-formed band The Vanguard. The NPG-Q debuted on 26 July 2014, backing Kandace Springs at Paisley Park Studios (the concert was streamed on 3rd Eye TV, a web TV channel operated by Prince via LiveStream.com in 2013–2014). Following two-week rehearsals, NPG Q gave another concert at Paisley Park on 10 August 2014, dubbed "Supermoon Recording Session;" the band was listed as NPJazz on the flyer. The band performed two sets, with Prince appearing as a guest on guitar for a few songs during the second show. Among ten original compositions, the band performed Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" cover and "Mind of J" written by Blackwell and originally released on John Blackwell Project's album 4ever Jia in 2010. The same day, Nik West posted a short video on her Instagram and Tumblr with Andrew Gouche, Xavier Taplin, and Kirk Johnson listening to the Mind Of J at Paisley Park Studios, with a caption "[…]mixing some new music from the live recording! #npjazz." The band's final appearance was on 30 September 2014, at the Art Official Age / Plectrumelectrum release party, where NPG-Q played a couple of tracks as a warm-up act. Several compositions from the unreleased album were later re-recorded and published by the band members, including "Way Back Then" on Andrew Gouche's We Don't Need No Bass in 2015 and "Dandelion" by Marcus Anderson on his 2017 album Limited Edition. NPG Q Line-up John Blackwell — drums Andrew Gouche — bass Marcus Anderson — saxophone Xavier Taplin — keyboards