Idan Raichel. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Israeli music icon Idan Raichel turned what was supposed to be a lesson with kids at a Chicago cultural center on Tuesday into a jam session, the local news site for New York and Chicago DNAinfo reported.

Raichel had been invited to give a talk to students in a music production class at the Little Black Pearl Art and Design Center while on tour in the US. According to the report, he was going to speak about his work in the field, which led to his performing a duet with American singer Alicia Keys and playing a private concert for former President Barack Obama.

However, when he began to explain some of the technical ins and outs of Israeli scales – and asked if anybody wanted to take a stab at creating a Middle Eastern melody – the lesson transformed into something totally different. After three students who took him up on his offer began to do a freestyle rap, Raichel – famous for his versatility of musical genres — said, “That was beautiful; we should record this beat.”

At that point, the report said, Raichel and the students jammed for another 20 minutes, before the lesson was resumed. The musician also invited the whole class to his next concert — even saying he would let them come on stage and perform.

“The most important thing in art — it doesn’t matter if it’s cool — is to be brave and make mistakes,” he told them.

Later that evening, Raichel performed at City Winery. His US tour culminates Thursday in New York City.

Watch Raichel jam with students at the Little Black Pearl Art and Design Center below: