Okay, here's a concept:
Prince does a "One Nite Alne" style recording, only live, no overdubs. He sits on the stool like in the Damn U video clip and ONLY SINGS, while a jazz trio lineup plays behind him (piano, bass, drums).
What songs would you like to hear him do, and who would play the other instruments? Doesn't have to be people he's worked with before.

I vote: Rhonda on bass (with her electic upright), Dr Fink on Piano and some really tasty jazz drummer who's great on brushes...Billy Martin perhaps?

Tunes?
How bout:
Scandalous
Grand Progression
Old Friends 4 Sale
Satisfied
Dorothy Parker
Elephants and Flowers
An Honest Man

Hatman nice idea

but i would add Prince on his ibanez jazz guitar
setlist like:
Power Fantastic,anything from madhouse albums,Xpectations
Strollin
Something in the water does not compute
Girl from Ipanama
Jazz vocal scat on Take Five
Insatiable
Do U lie?
and Mellow great song with great vocal by Prince

Wow, I thought nobody was going to respond at all!

I like your ideas for Strollin and Power Fantastic. Something in the Water...weird but inspired choice. It'd be trippy as fuck.

I wanted to take the guitar out of his hands so the musicality of the rhythm section could really come thru and Prince could really concentrate on his amazing vocals, kind of like that live Willing and Able performance which was the basis for the video clip.

But let's face it, it would sound nice if he had the ibanez too.

I just wish the full version of All Blues from the Beautiful Experience was circulating.
[Edited 3/5/10 0:55am]

Prince; piano
Carla Azar; drums
Me'Shell NdegéOcello; bass

I'd really like an expanded jazz line-up, so Eric Leeds and Matt Bliss and Renato Neto could be lined up. And Renato could free Prince up to do some guitar work, so I can put songs like Alexa De Paris in the setlist, which would not make much sense without guitar.

And here's a list of set-list suggestions for songs that could work very well in a set up of just drums, bass and piano. Some would be interesting to hear stripped down and re-arranged into this set-up, others already seem ready to fit into this setting.

17 Days
Around The World In A Day
The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
Breathe
Crucial
Damn U
Do U Lie?
Empty Room
God (instrumental)
Here On Earth
An Honest Man
How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Little Red Corvette
Moonbeam Levels
New Position
Old Friends 4 Sale
One Nite Alone...
Open Book
Pop Life
Power Fantastic
She Spoke To Me
Somewhere Here On Earth
Soul Sanctuary
When The Lights Go Down
When We're Dancing Close And Slow

thebanishedone said:

Great ideas also! Especially Something In The Water!

And a good idea to request other people's songs.

If there are any songs I would love him to play in this setting, they would be;
Mahalia Jackson's Walk Over God's Heaven, all rockin' and ramblin'
MIles Davis' Génerique, which is one of the most haunting melody line son earth and I would love to hear how he would work that melody in either piano or guitar.

thank you all fellow orgers

He can play Crazy You from
the first album and
at the end add swing
section to jazz it up
Prince's vocals on it would be amazing

thebanishedone said:

Yeah, and it could be real deep swing, not the sort of pop shuffle swing he likes to put in sometimes (Courtin' Time or If Eye Was the Man in Ur Wife--er--Life)

HamsterHuey said:

Great lineup. Meshell is a fantastic idea. I was lucky enough to interview her last week for my radio show and I asked her if a collaboration was ever going to happen. She said that it was very unlikely. She didn't go into specifics but I got the impression she had tried to make it happen in the past and he didn't treat her very well. That made me sad.

Anyway, it's a great fantasy! Those two would tear it up.