Yonnet Does Double Duty To Pay Tribute To Mentor Stevie Wonder

[Washington, January 13, 2012] After attending Debra Lee’s BET Pre-Honors party on Friday night, Stevie Wonder stopped by Blues Alley to hear his friend and fellow harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet who had performed “Autumn Leaves” with violinist Chelsey Greene at Lee’s party before racing over to Blues Alley for a scheduled guest appearance with Cheikh Ndoye & Friends.  The show, which included Karen Briggs, Marcus Baylor, Lao Tizer and Chieli Minucci. The band had just finished it’s last song, however Yonnet got them to do an encore.

A Washington Post article dated Jan 16, 2012, mentioned Wonder “Spotted” however, their reference to an “impromptu performance” by Wonder and Yonnet at the BET Honors Pre-Dinner was actually a duet with violinist Chelsey Greene. When Wonder heard the first harmonica note, he recognized Yonnet’s sound and, upon exiting the BET dinner, he alerted his security that he wanted to go to Blues Alley to hear more.