The American saxophonist Lenny Pickett and the Finnish all-star big band, UMO Jazz Orchestra, will release a collaborative album. "The Prescription" is due to come out in the United States on 10 June. The album is the second for the Tower of Power saxman and the Saturday Night Live band director, Pickett, whose career spans over 40 years.
World famous tenor saxophonist, Lenny Pickett, was a key figure in the horn section of the immensely popular pop-funk group, Tower of Power, for almost ten years, from 1972 to 1981. A little later, in 1985, Pickett joined the band of the TV programme Saturday Night Live, and became the group’s musical director in 1995 – a post that he still holds. Pickett has made a long career as a session musician and arranger, having worked with several giants of pop from David Bowie and Elton John to David Byrne and Katy Perry. Naturally, Pickett has developed a sound that could not be but his.
In spite of the fact that he has appeared on numberless recordings, The Prescription will be only the second album for Pickett under his own name. The recording consists of ten tracks, a number of which are his original compositions, ranging from waltz to more intense moods. Among the fruits of the collaboration are also new versions of the Tower of Power hit, “What is Hip?”, and of Rich Shemaria’s – UMO’s artistic director in the 90s – playful composition, “A Sad State of Affairs”. The album will be released on American Random Act Records label.
“This was a one-of-a-kind project, comprising artistic moods, slow blues, up-tempo swing, funk and many eclectic elements – the album is not an easy one to pigeonhole”, Pickett says.
Pickett’s saxophone-playing with his characteristic phrasing and articulation furnishes the album with a warmly pulsing heart. UMO’s alto saxophonist Jouni Järvelä does not hold back when he praises Pickett: “He is an exceptional superman of the saxophone and other woodwind instruments, possessing incredible talent and plenty of ideas. He is able to bend his instrument and the score to whatever direction he wishes. Lenny is winningly ebullient and irresistibly explosive."
“UMO’s musicians seemed to embrace all the intrinsic concepts that my compositions imported. That’s why the project succeeded so well. They readily trusted their expertise to the hands of my imagination. They love all music genres and do not want to reduce jazz to simple classifications. That’s why it was all worth it”, Pickett tells.
In the sleeve of the album, Pickett thanks his co-musicians: “I would never have believed that I would make a recording with a big band. I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to work with so many incredible musicians. This album is the result of many lucky coincidences.”
The Prescription will come out in the United States on 10 June. The European release date and possible live show dates are to be announced later.
Sample the album on the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LennyPickettAlbum
"Polyphonic extravaganzas that manage to touch base with R&B, funk, swing, Latin influence, and the avant-garde; horn lines twist around one another, shifting and building in intensity." - New York Times
"Soul-band choreography and funky chops on pieces that often sound like collaborations between Bach, King Curtis, Steve Reich and the World Saxophone Quartet." - Down Beat