Flea was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night, March 23, where he performed a bass-and-trumpet jazz rendition of Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You” that appears on his forthcoming solo debut, Honora. The backing band featured three-fourths of Jeff Parker’s ETA IVtet—bassist Anna Butterss, Josh Johnson on keyboards, and Parker himself.
During a sit-down interview with Fallon, Flea, whose first instrument was the trumpet, told the story of meeting legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie as a kid. He also discussed the impetus behind Honora: “A few years ago I decided ‘I’m just gonna play trumpet every day, no matter what, and after a couple years of doing it I’m gonna make a record, and whatever comes comes.’” Watch Flea on Fallon below.
Honora is out this Friday, March 27. In addition to Flea’s “Thinkin Bout You” cover, the LP includes the singles “Traffic Light,” which was co-written with Thom Yorke, and “A Plea.”
“When [Channel Orange] came out, it really blew me away,” Flea previously said in a press statement. “I loved it so much and still do. Just one of those real watershed moment records for me. ‘Thinkin Bout You’ is one of the many great songs on that record, and I thought it would be fun to play on trumpet.”
Read about “Thinkin Bout You” at No. 5 in The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.