Police Guitarist Andy Summers Recalls Memorable Musical Encounters with Jimi Hendrix

Police guitarist Andy Summers is several years older than the other members in his famous band, and he actually was part of the 1960s London music scene when Jimi Hendrix emerged as a superstar. In a new interview with YouTube personality Rick Beato, Summers, 80, shared some interesting recollections about Hendrix, including one time when he actually got to jam with the guitar icon.

Summers remembered first seeing Hendrix perform shortly after Animals bassist Chas Chandler brought him over from the U.S. to London. He said Hendrix was sitting in with lauded jazz-rock keyboardist Brian Auger at a club called The Cromwellian.

[RELATED: Sting and Andy Summers Are Still Fighting Over Songwriting Credit for The Police’s Grammy-Winning Hit “Every Breath You Take”]

First Time Seeing Hendrix Perform

“I walked into this club to see this guy, and there he was. He had an afro that was this wide [and was wearing an] all-white sort of buckskin with the fringes this long,” said Summers. “It was an incredible vision to walk in [to]. And he had a white Strat in his mouth. That was my first seeing of him … It was a mindf–k.”

The veteran rocker added that Hendrix “was like a being from outer space, like an alien.”

Summers noted that the London scene at time was filled with guitar players who were “blues wannabes … Then there was Jimi, who was from another planet … All the so-called famous players were blown out of the water completely with the arrival of Hendrix.”

Hendrix was soon put together with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell in The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the group took the music world by storm. As for Summers’ jam session with Hendrix, that took place in 1968 in Los Angeles, where he said a lot of London musician had relocated at the time.

Getting to Jam with Hendrix

Summers recalled that he was invited by Hendrix’s manager, Mike Jeffery, to come to an L.A. studio to see the guitar great, so he went there with keyboardist Zoot Money. He and Money both were playing with Eric Burdon and the Animals at the time.

“We walked into the studio … and there was Jimi wailing away,” he remembered. “He had the hat on with the feather, classic Hendrix, and he was just going for it … this wailing roaring guitar coming out.”

Mitchell was also at the studio, and after Summers chatted a bit with Hendrix, Jimi went into another room to talk with engineer Eddie Kramer. Summers said he noticed a Les Paul guitar sitting in the studio, so he decided to pick it up and start jamming with Mitchell.

“So we’re jamming alone together and it’s all going great, we’re having a good jam,” he recalled. “And then Jimi walked out, picks up [a] bass, [and] he starts playing with us … [I was thinking,] ‘Yep, a nice little trio here.’”

Summers said that after they played for about 10 minutes, Hendrix asked, “Hey man, you mind if I play the guitar for a while?” Of course, Summers didn’t object.

“So I picked up the bass and he played the guitar and then Zoot came out on the keyboards,” he continued. “And so we … played for about half an hour.”

Summers noted, sadly, “That may be the last time I saw [Hendrix],” adding, “but that was a good moment.”

Of course, Summers’ most noteworthy musical chapter would not begin for several more years, when he joined singer/bassist Sting and drummer Stewart Copeland on The Police in 1977.

Summers’ Recent Solo Tour

Earlier this month, the guitarist wrapped up a North American solo tour called The Cracked Lens + A Missing String. The trek featured him performing along to a sequenced display of his photography.

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(Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)