Podcast appearances and mentions of Lenny Pickett

Saxophonist Lenny Pickett and drummer/percussionist John Hadfield tell us about their new recording “Heard by Others II” on Adhyâropa Records. They share the story of how their friendship began in New York and led to two unique releases featuring their original compositions that incorporate the possibilities of modern recording technology and electronic music.   “Heard by Others II” (Adhyâropa Records) Release date: June 6, 2025 Lenny Pickett, John Hadfield https://lennypickettjohnhadfield.bandcamp.com/album/heard-by-others-ii https://music.apple.com/us/album/heard-by-others-ii-ep/1803217908 https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0F1ZHR37X   “Heard by Others” (Orenda Records) (2020) Lenny Pickett, John Hadfield https://orendarecords.bandcamp.com/album/heard-by-others-ep https://open.spotify.com/album/2OWY8OyuumW3PEnbFwddcw https://music.apple.com/us/album/heard-by-others-ep/1533338756 https://music.amazon.com/albums/B08K2P7SCM https://dzr.page.link/8hYP9uZu9u5ocpvr9   Lenny Pickett's Homepage John Hadfield's Homepage   Check out Adhyâropa Records for more great releases.

We hand the mic to Kirk Hamilton from the Strong Songs podcast to help us break down the groovy 1973 self-titled release: Tower of Power. We unpack what makes this Oakland funk outfit a generational institution – from David Garibaldi's precision drum fills and Rocco Prestia's machine-gun bass lines to what may be the tightest horn section of all time. We dig into standout tracks like “What Is Hip?” and “Soul Vaccination,” spotlight Lenny Pickett's wild ascent from TOP to SNL, and detail some funny production quirks (like why the drums are panned hard left). It's a full-course tour through funk, soul, and brass brilliance – with a healthy side of stank face.Check out the Strong Songs podcast → https://strongsongspodcast.com/ABOUT OPEN STUDIO------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------As the premier online jazz education platform, with an ever-expanding course library and 20,000+ members, Open Studio (OS) has everything you need to excel and thrive on your jazz journey.Featuring everything from beginner to advanced lessons, engaging courses from A-list instructors, step-by-step curriculum, real-time classes and a thriving and incredibly supportive community, OS is the perfect platform to level up your jazz playing, whether you're a total beginner, or an advanced pro-level improvisor.

This week on the podcast we reveal the Don Pardo Award winner for Season 5. This high prestigious honor is bestowed onto a person or group of people who contribute to the show's success despite not being eligible for traditional election into the Hall. Transcript: Track 2:[0:42] Thank you so much, Doug Donatz. It is great to be here in the SNL Hall of Fame.The SNL Hall of Fame podcast is a weekly affair where each episode we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest, or writer and add them to the ballot for your consideration.Once the nominees have been announced, we turn to you, the listener, to vote for the most deserving and help determine who will be enshrined for perpetuity in the hall.Except for this week. Because this is our very special Don Pardo Award show where the three of us, Thomas, Matt, and myself put our heads together and award the Don Pardo Award to a deserving individual, or in the case of this year's award, deserving individuals.I won't bury the lead any longer, but before I go anywhere, please. please wipe your feet.Track 2:[1:43] This week, we are going to be talking about a major component of Saturday Night Live, and that is the SNL band.So the way we're going to tackle this is we're going to go in chronological order to the best of our ability.We might miss a couple of years, but we can fill Fill in the blanks as necessary for you to get your little history lesson.But this has been enough of me talking right now.How are you doing, Thomas? Hey, JD.Doing really well. It's nice to be on a little like an actual episode with you and Matt, like the three of us kind of uniting here. Yeah. One united front.This is really fun. We were talking as we're recording this, we're coming off a really fantastic Kristen Wiig episode. So I think all of us are kind of energized by SNL right now.So we're taking that energy from the recent Kristen Wiig episode and putting it forth here for this. Oh, that's fantastic.Matt, you're not in your usual corner this week. No, no. Yeah, I've moved things, moved my desk around.I need to make room to watch that, you know, 1970s French disco funk and dance around.Track 2:[3:00] I wonder if they were even i know when they counted the numbers they were speaking french but i wonder how much of the rest of it was was actual french my wife was asleep on the couch i would have asked her she's a french teacher i wanted to wake her up and say you got to watch this sketch but she was gone i'll ask i'll show it to her today and ask it sounded right from my grade nine general French.So it may be like Google Translate. Who knows?But it had the right shapes. Yeah. And I think Bowen's a French speaker.So I think at least Bowen was probably speaking good real. Oh, OK. I think he is. Yeah. Didn't realize that.Well, Matt and I have failed our Canadian tests here.For those listening from other places in the world, Canadians are not truly bilingual, even though our country is.Track 2:[3:52] But I digress. Let's start at the start.Track 2:[3:57] And speaking of Canadians, we're going to talk about the original SNL band.And it's not band leader, but it's musical director. And that is Howard Shore, who is immensely talented.He played the alto sax in the band, and he, like I said, was the band leader.But he was, before he came to SNL, he worked with Lorne Michaels and Hart Pomerantz on the Lorne and Hart Terrific Hour. hour.And when Lauren got SNL, it seemed like a slam dunk for him to come South and work with Saturday Night Live.To me, his most defining moment in the role is that he wrote the closing.He wrote Waltz in D, is it D minor?Waltz in A, written by a founding member, Howard Shore.And And that is something, maybe the only thing other than update that is like lasted the duration of the show.I'm not as versed in the 80s. I don't know if they ended in Waltz and A, but definitely all the Lorne Michaels era, it ends with that.And it's always very exciting when you get to hear the bulk of it and you get to see the credits roll and you get to see them mingling on the stage.Track 2:[5:24] Oftentimes here in Canada, when it aired on global TV, they would cut it off and you wouldn't see much of anything.But now for some reason, you get to see it all.Track 2:[5:35] Uh, do you guys have any feelings about that original music director in that original band?I'm going to get into more detail in a moment, but I'm just curious if you guys have any sort of thoughts or feelings.We talked a little bit about this concept in the Don Pardo episode from last season, Matt and I, but it's just branding.And you touched on it, JD, like the Waltz and A and all of that, like the SNL band, And even with them playing in between sketches and bumpers and stuff, it all goes toward the branding of the show, the show's identity.And when talking about Howard Shore, the fact that he created such an iconic piece of music that's obviously stood the test of time.Like how much aside unless you're one of the more famous cast members or lauren michaels himself it's hard to find somebody who's had such an imprint as far as the identity and branding of the show so right away like he's he's an icon just because of that along with the other like founding members of the snl band but howard shore will highlight at this moment as like the leader So that's what sticks out to me about Howard Shore, specifically his contribution to SNL.How about you, Matt? Yeah, for me, I feel like he's one of those instrumental components creating the feeling Thomas was saying.Track 2:[7:03] Because that early band was much more involved in the day-to-day operations.They were. The later bands, because they would play as part of the show.So you don't get that anymore.In those early first few seasons, they would do extended musical numbers.Or like there's this one sketch with Lily Tomlin where the entire band are dressed up as nurses.That's right. And they do St. James Infirmary Blues.And it's it's just like they're they're they're a component of those early days, setting the tone, part of the vibe of the entire thing.Uh and i think it's no small part due to the camaraderie that shore had with the rest of them, that's right the rest of the cast yeah you're gonna mention this jd but also like the ama king b yes i was just gonna go there that's so funny.Track 2:[8:16] To Matt's point, they were much more a part of the show.You have the nurse band, you have the beekeeper outfit.Track 2:[8:28] Not to mention the fact that the band is responsible for creating interstitial music for sketches and even main music for sketches in some cases.So, I think that that is woven into the fabric of the blueprint or the DNA of SNL at this point.Even though, you know, more contemporary SNL bands aren't as involved.Now, I say that having just come off the Kristen Wiig episode where we got a really funny joke from Lenny Pickett.And that was just, you know, just fantastic.To steal a page from matt's book and just offer you a little trivia i thought it was very interesting that howard shore gave the name blues brothers to akroyd and belushi he was the one who came up with that term and obviously we know how successful the blues brothers were both on the show and in their feature debut uh you know really good stuff shore moved on from snl and And had a phenomenal career post-SNL, scoring films.And he scored films all through the 80s. There are some pseudo-notable ones that I don't have written down right now.But in the early 2000s and late 90s, I think it's late. Is Lord of the Rings late 90s?Track 2:[9:57] Or is it early 2000s? I think the first one was early 2000s.Early 2000s. So it entered production late 90s.Sure. So he did the score for all three of those movies and the three Hobbit films.And to me, that is just phenomenal.He's won three Academy Awards. He's been nominated for Golden Globe Awards.He has won some Emmy Awards as well.And he's just all over the place in terms of success. sass.He's been pursuing music since he was basically eight or nine years old.Track 2:[10:36] At 13 and 14, he became good friends with the young Lorne Michaels in summer camp.And obviously, we know what happened from there.Gosh, if I could have been in summer camp with Lorne Michaels, if only, maybe I'd have a different career right now. But I digress.Any other thoughts on Howard Shore and his influence and importance in the legacy of SNL?Yeah, I think Howard Shore, and not just him. So I'm looking at like the members of the founding band.A lot of them were in the Blues Brothers.So a lot of them played in the Blues Brothers and like role class musicians. You had Paul Schaefer.That's right. Yeah, involved. And of course, we know Paul Schaefer went on to do he was accredited cast member.Paul Schaefer at one point. Tom Bones Malone is a really well respected trombone and trumpet player in the music world.So you have all these world-class musicians, Cheryl Hardwick on keyboards, all these people, super well-respected.And Howard Shore is like the leader of this group.But these musicians, and this is going to be a theme throughout our conversation, are just world-class musicians.Track 2:[11:52] Do you two know if Shore was responsible for putting, I'm guessing he was, but for putting the band actually together?Other yeah i would imagine so because i mean that's how it works now uh as reading an interview, uh maddie rice uh the guitarist and she was talking about how lenny the audition it was sort of like the their version of the lauren michaels the musician's version of the lauren michaels audition where he just sort of sits there dead faced kind of thing but yeah like so i i would assume like he's just going around and getting the best of the best of these musicians that.Track 2:[12:31] At that point, it's a regular gig, good money.So for the 70s, that's a nice enticement to a lot of musicians, I'm sure.You're in New York. You're in New York, yeah. So you have ample opportunity to go to a live venue and play during the week if you're not rehearsing.Almost like the stand-ups and the sketch artists on SNL. Very similar through-line there. That's interesting, Matt. Yeah.Well, shall we move forward? Shore was there, I guess, from the inception through 1979.Track 2:[13:05] So he left when everybody else left, including Lorne Michaels.There were two band leaders in the early 80s, one that only lasted a year, I want to say.Yeah. And one that was three or four years on top of that.And then Lorne came back. so kenny vance succeeded howard shore as the musical director but kenny vance right he was only there basically probably just when gene dumanian was there as the producer so i think maybe when dick ebersole came uh some of the retooling that they did uh i imagine uh affected kenny vance as well as musical director but then they replaced him with the aforementioned tom Tom Bones Malone, who was in the original SNL band that Howard Shore was musical director of.So Tom Bones Malone from 81 to 85 was the musical director.Not that much on Tom Bones Malone. I just know you always hear that name as far as when you talk about great respected musicians.Track 2:[14:10] The name Tom Bones Malone is one that I remember people always talking about.Out but so it was kenny vance from 80 to 81 and tom malone from 81 to 85 i don't know much about that period i just know tom bones if he got bones as a nickname yeah no it's tom bones malone he's like and speaks to the quality of the music those original musicians uh he played multiple instruments aside from trombone he played saxophone trumpet tuba flute bass guitar.Track 2:[14:42] Oh like he could be half the band if and i mean that that was all these musicians were these multi-instrumentalist talent powerhouses um so so yeah it's just it's amazing again like i think that period is sort of like a weird dark period in a lot of ways where a lot of that doesn't make it out kind of like a black hole of saturday night live but it's a little bit yeah yeah tougher to to find information on that era.So that brings us to a member, I want to say he was a member of Tom Bones Malone, his troupe.You guys can correct me if I'm wrong, but he became bandleader, and that is G.E.Smith, and we're going to pass the torch to Thomas on this one.Track 2:[15:27] Yeah, so they were doing retooling, so Dick Ebersole left, and so Lorne Michaels came back to the show in 1985, so they're doing a lot of retooling.That was the year, you know, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, we saw Lovitz and Nora Dunn and Dennis Miller come into this season, but just a lot of reshuffling and new energy into the show.So that's the season that G.E. Smith started as the musical director of the Saturday Night Live band.I don't know, Jamie, that he was in previous iterations. I think he's a Lorne guy.Okay. And he knows Lorne because G.E. Smith, he was married to Gilda Radner for a couple years in the early 80s. So he got to know Lorne that way.And we've seen, obviously, now that Lorne hires people who he knows and trusts.That's a really big factor. So you're right. Right. If I had married Gilda Radner in the early 80s, I might have a different career path as well.Track 2:[16:31] But as it stands, G.E. Smith's the one who married Gilda Radner.So he became SNL bandleader in 1985.But G.E. Smith, if you've ever heard him speak, he has the blues in his blood.He's like a true blues man, the way he speaks and just his cadence.And you could tell he plays the blues when you listen to G.E. Smith talk.He did a really great episode, I'm going to say probably around when COVID first came up with Marc Maron. He was on WTF with Marc Maron. Oh.Yeah. So he and Marc Maron just geeked out about music because Marc's a guitar player.And so he and G.E. Smith just geeked out about the blues and, oh, what about this musician? What about this guy and that guy?And so it was like two music blues geeks. Oh, that's great. So you can tell, you can feel it in G.E.Smith's blood that he's a blues man. He started playing guitar when he was four years old.Track 2:[17:26] He started kind of learning cursory notes when he was four.Yeah. And by seven, he actually got like a friend of the family gifted him a really good, like the nice starter acoustic guitar.So G.E. Smith's been playing since he was a really tiny kid.You could tell he's just a he's just such a prodigy. That's what he was. He was a prodigy.Yeah. When he was a kid, man, he's he's he's just he's gotten his blood.And he said something to Marion that I thought was interesting. and it says a lot about G Smith's musical style so he said in in talking about the Beatles and the Stones and stuff he said he respected the Beatles he liked the Beatles but it was the Rolling Stones and the Kinks he said that really like motivated him as far as music goes so that's just where he's coming from like he likes the Beatles but he's like a Stones guy so I think that could say a lot about a musician when they state that like which way they lean you know what what I'm saying he has more stones in him he ended up working with Mick Jagger which is probably was probably cool for him but does that make sense like like you get to kind of tell when a musician says I like the Beatles but like I had like the stones more in me absolutely and that he mentions the kinks too yeah I can add that vibes with me or I'm like yeah yeah I get a kinks energy.Track 2:[18:46] Yeah, so this guy is just a true blue musician. He played with Hall & Oates.He was on some of Hall & Oates' biggest records from 79 through the mid-80s.G.E. Smith was... So that's what he was doing in the early 80s.He was mainly playing and touring with Hall & Oates.He's done albums with Tom Waits, Mick Jagger, Carly Simon, Buddy Guy, Bob Dylan.Track 2:[19:09] Worked closely with David Bowie and Roger Waters. I mean, this guy has been around.That's what he loves. He loves playing. He's made a lot of connections, very well respected.Track 2:[19:19] And we talk about branding, you guys. And I know, JD, I'm pretty sure this is when you started watching, was around the mid-80s. Maybe when Phil Hartman and Carvey and Lovitz and those guys.G.E. Smith, to me, was part of the fabric of the show. They would even build G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live band.And watching him, the dude with the blonde ponytail, just shredding on the guitar.Guitar like he was to me as a viewer part of like that branding he was part of like the essence of the show i don't know if either of you felt that way watching that era of snl absolutely every time they cut to commercial you just see him wailing away on that guitar uh with these incredible licks and it's just yeah that was just the moment and it's like i that early ge smith you know saturday night live band is like i couldn't at that time i couldn't have imagined it i can almost hear don pardo saying it ge smith on the 70 my wife the way he said ge smith it was like it felt like it meant something i don't know here's something nitpicky do we know what ge stands for oh george edward george edward smith oh it's cooler george edward dad actually oh let's say that again george edward haddad.Track 2:[20:43] Yeah, his dad's side of the family is Lebanese. Oh, wow.So, yeah, so he grew up kind of like culturally Lebanese in a lot of ways, G.E. Smith did. That's fascinating.Yeah, so like a real cultured guy, a lot of influences, has worked, like I said, with so many people.People uh he says and he gives he gives credit to a lot of people that were in the his band at snl because he tells he tells marin that he just wanted to keep up with these amazing musicians, so he's like that that's just what you know that that's he said that was my role in the band i was kind of like the leader but like these were world class he's like snl had the budget he said this is a big show they had the budget to get these amazing musicians so he's like i felt every week like i just had to keep up man well he gives a lot of credit he gives a lot of credit to uh to the other people uh that were in the snl band at the same time and i'm looking and um yeah it was guys like george young i know he's a he's a pretty respected player earl gardner who was there forever he started with ge smith all these really great uh great musicians matt chamberlain that That blew my mind when I read that.Yeah, he was probably best known for Pearl Jam, but he's been drummer for a lot of bands. Soundgarden?Track 2:[22:05] Soundgarden, yeah. He was, from 91 to 92, he was part of G.E.Smith's band a little bit.We'd see David Johansson as Buster Poindexter make appearances every now and then in that era.Track 2:[22:18] So, yeah, G.E. Smith really gives a lot of credit to other musicians, the people in his band.Even though he was the one that was billed and people just think of G.E.Smith from that era, he really is very complimentary of all the musicians that he got to work with on SNL.There seems to be a through line here so far that these band leaders put together these world-class bands to play one night a week for 90 minutes. Yeah, right.Probably the best gig going. Yeah, what a great gig. Yeah.Well, from GE Smith, we go to...The longest running, the Kenan of band leaders.I don't know that anyone will surpass his record at this point because I don't know when he's leaving even.But this brings us to Lenny Pickett and his cohort at times that I'm sure Matt is going to get into here.Based on a Facebook post I read earlier today. Yes. Well, Lenny was one of those 1985 hires. So he came in at the same time as G.E. Smith.Track 2:[23:34] He was co-musical director with Cheryl Hardwick, who founding band member.She was co-musical director with G.E. Smith.She was in the band until 1995 when she retired at the end of season 25.So, I mean, she was the last member of the founding band.But so you get this i think that's why there's such a through line in the psychology of the band leaders because you had members of that original band all through the years up until you know 95 like just a little over you know a little under a decade ago so you you've got like just the psychology and it is a very music forward psychology uh you've got going on like He's a former member of Tower of Power, R&B funk band, amazing.He led their horn section before joining the SNL band.Track 2:[24:30] He's entirely self-taught. This is a guy who picked up his instruments as a kid and just taught himself, except for a brief period where he went to work with a particular musician for less than a year.So I don't even really count that. So he's learned everything on his own.He went to study with Burt Wilson, a jazz musician, for a short time.But he can also play clarinet, flute, as well as the alto saxophone.He's considered a virtuoso of the altissimo register.This is a technique where you can just change your position of your tongue and the shape of your throat and make your saxophone play way outside of its register so he'll you'll key like a b flat and you'll get a high f that kind of thing like totally outside of the range so that's why he gets this incredible performance out of his uh out of his saxophone because he's like pushing it beyond the limits but you know.Track 2:[25:37] He's performed with the greats. He's also performed with Paul and Oates.He performed with David Bowie as well.Aaron Neville, Katy Perry, Talking Heads. He was recently a part of Love This Giant, an album by David Byrne and St. Vincent.So he played saxophone. Wild.So, I mean, he's still a vibrant, powerful musician.He surrounded himself with, if we look at this, his current band, they're all veterans at this point there's only a couple of people who are relatively new uh you know leon uh pendarvis keyboard since 1980 he predate he's like predates the you know the band leader uh alex foster 85 uh steve turay trombone 85 christine olman vocals since 91 sean pelton drums since 92.Valerie Naranjo, you see like rocking out back there every every episode.95 James Keenis 2000.Ron Blake, he's on baritone sax 2005.Track 2:[26:50] Toughest Zimbabwe keyboard since 2010.And then you have Maddie Rice, a guitarist that I mentioned earlier, and Summer DeMarco, who's on trumpet both 20 and 20 and 2022 respectively so for the most part these are band members who are seasoned respected and talented musicians um and it's like an incredible like i was doing a little bit of digging into their process and i have to say in a in some ways they have it harder than the sketch comedians because they don't generally come in during the week they come in on saturday day.Track 2:[27:29] Sometimes they'll do a bit of a rehearsal on Friday if it's a complex piece, like a big piece.But they work with Elijah Bruggeman. He's the sketch musical director.And he will collaborate like Rice was talking about, the Tampon Farm sketch, where Kate actually laid down a guitar track.But it was you know it's not professional quality because she's just a home guitar player so she came over and played over that and sort of expanded the composition but they did that on thursday so it's like she just came in listened to the track and just sort of noodled something over top of it and uh but yeah like they will come in they'll they'll start rehearsal on friday a Saturday and then be ready for dress.Track 2:[28:26] So it's just like, there's no time there. And like those sketches are so tight.Like you look at the sketches just past weekend, you had multiple sketches where you've got this intense musical number or, or some of the classic sketches where, where you've got music feature very prominently.No, they've had a day to figure that out is like, this is why you have the best of the best on that band.Track 2:[28:52] Yeah they i noticed snl especially this season in season 49 they like to do one sketches where a character gives a dramatic monologue and then you hear like the dramatic music playing in the background so yeah so a lot of i don't think a lot of people realize that in in most of these sketches that require music that's the band that's like the house band playing in a lot of these sketches so it's not just like oh we're gonna play uh in between commercials or we're gonna play the good nights or or whatever like they're like involved in sketches i think that's a really good thing to bring up pros pros they are absolutely pros pros and very well deserving of this prestigious award the don pardo award that we will be presenting every season uh so far the list is short it's don pardo and the snl band any final thoughts on the snl band gentlemen i'm curious who you think might be good for the like when lenny retires to take over the reins hmm.Track 2:[30:01] This is almost, I mean, this is almost harder than Who Replaces Lorne, because with Lorne, it's a short list.But like we could, if I knew anything about, you know, jazz music in New York and, you know, R&B music in New York, I would have a couple names for you.But I don't. So I don't even have any names.Thomas? Yeah, I wonder if SNL would do something like want to pry like John Batiste or something from his Stephen Colbert gig.Oh, wow. So here's the thing. Maddie was in that band. Yeah, yeah.Yeah, Maddie came from that band. I kind of feel like she's being lined up because she's featured more and more prominently in the transitions and stuff.She's also a multi-instrumentalist. she's young so she can she's sort of got the vibe for the modern sound but also, jazz musician and guitarist so she has that respect for the old ways as well as the new ways I think she'd be a good fit to sort of transition a new era because I don't Lenny would leave before season 50 but you know like if there was a new new guard let's say were to take over I think that would be a good fit because it's it's a legacy.Track 2:[31:25] How old is Pickett? When he turned 31, 31, he was born at 31.She. Oh, sorry. Sorry. Lenny Pickett.Lenny is he was born in 1956.OK. No. Yeah. Lenny's turning 70 in three days, actually, on April 10th.So as we're recording this, Lenny's going to be he's 70 when this when this. Yeah. April 10th, 1954.Sorry. Yeah. So he might be. Yeah. No, I think Matt brings up a good point about Matty Rice, though. Matty. Yeah. Yeah, Maddie's 30, 31.Track 2:[31:57] She could be next in line to follow, to succeed Lenny Pickett, for sure.She did a good interview with Vulture earlier this year.That was the interview that I think Matt was referencing, was her Vulture interview.So yeah, she used to play in John Batiste's Stay Human house band for Stephen Colbert.My wife and I, a few years ago, went and saw a taping of Stephen Colbert.Dana Carvey was on that. So that was like, as an SNL fan, that was pretty special.So I got to see Maddie and John Batiste and do their thing.It's interesting about Maddie Rice is, and it's kind of unfortunate too, but she was almost at the center of a really, really unfortunate nonsensical discussion online.Imagine that, a nonsensical discussion online.Line but people were focusing in on if she laughed or not during the monologue and her reactions during the monologue and i think she even came out and said i've seen a lot of these jokes in this monologue like this is probably the third or fourth time that i've seen it so she said she doesn't want to like do fake laughter so she's like these are just kind of my it's not no offense against the host or whoever's doing the monologue but it's just so it was just very weird like yeah Yeah. Focusing on Maddie Rice's reaction.Track 2:[33:15] And to be fair to her, most of the other band are pretty deadpan during that, too, because they don't want to they don't want to telegraph stuff.Yeah. They want to, you know. Right. And J.D.Track 2:[33:34] Right. So so what you want to refresh people's memories about that?Yeah, well, it was interesting. Kristen came up for her monologue.And before she monologued, she said, you know what?I haven't talked to the band in a while. Toughest on keys. How you doing?Sean on drums. How about you?Great. Lenny on sax. How you doing? I'm OK.And it was something that we just have not seen before on the show in that manner.So it was really, for a show that is 49 years old to do something it hasn't done before is pretty incredible.And I think that's why we pointed it out to each other earlier today, because it does seem sort of shocking in a sense.But it just goes to show you how important this group of people truly are, that they can, you know, take us to a commercial break.Oftentimes, when there's not enough time for another sketch, we get a commercial break, and then we come back to an interstitial, and then another commercial break before we go to Walt's and A.Track 2:[34:45] So that is this year's Don Pardo Award winner.We have some exciting news as well.As you're listening to this, we are opening voting today, and voting will run through the 17th of May, at which time we will do some tabulation, and then we will present with you the Monday episode that will reveal Season 5's SNL Hall of Fame.Gentlemen, it has been an absolute pleasure for Matt Ardill and Thomas Senna. I'm JD.Track 2:[35:23] Do me a favor on your way out as you pass the weekend update exhibit.Turn out the lights because the SNL Hall of Fame is now closed.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/snlhof/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this week's episode, John talks with drummer, educator and product designer, Pat Petrillo. John and Pat do a deep dive into Pat's latest and critically acclaimed record, "The Power Station Sessions” which features Nile Rodgers, John Popper, Oz Noy, Lenny Pickett, Felecia Collins and Glen Burtnik. Pat takes us into the recording process, his instrument choices, and song material. Pat also talks about drummers that influenced him, his years in drum corps and developing technique, and much more! Pat will be featured in an upcoming issue of Modern Drummer! Please subscribe: https://linktr.ee/live_from_my_drum_roomhttps://linktr.ee/live_from_my_drum_room

In this week's episode, John talks with drummer, educator and product designer, Pat Petrillo. John and Pat do a deep dive into Pat's latest and critically acclaimed record, "The Power Station Sessions” which features Nile Rodgers, John Popper, Oz Noy, Lenny Pickett, Felecia Collins and Glen Burtnik. Pat takes us into the recording process, his instrument choices, and song material. Pat also talks about drummers that influenced him, his years in drum corps and developing technique, and much more! Pat will be featured in an upcoming issue of Modern Drummer! Please subscribe to: https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnDeChristopherLiveFromMyDrumRoom

   Steven Wolf (also known simply as Wolf) is one of the world's most in-demand studio musicians. His discography includes numerous #1, Gold, Platinum, and Grammy winning records.     A virtuoso drummer and world class programmer, with an encyclopedic musical vocabulary spanning every musical genre, his distinctive skill-set and versatility have made him the "go-to" rhythmic solution for a long list of the world's top recording artists and producers.    In addition to drumming and programming, he's also an accomplished producer, songwriter, and remixer. Wolf's credits include: Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Annie Lennox, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Celine Dion,Cher, Joss Stone, Britney Spears, The Bee Gees, Natalie Imbruglia, Leona Lewis, Johnny Cash, Rufus Wainwright, Daryl Hall, Macy Gray, Grover Washington Jr, Oz Noy, Hiram Bullock, Tribal Tech, Larry Coryell, The Gil Evans Orchestra, Lenny Pickett, The Saturday Night Live Band, and many others… In this episode, Wolf talks about:    Advice for the young player    Transitioning from a touring to session drummer and programmer    Getting the right sounds in the studio    Managing a sample library    Creating an emotional reaction in programming    Staying current with musical styles    The connection between mind and body 

We have Lenny Pickett in studio as we talk all things NFL, NBA Playoffs, and Browns schedule.

Dan gets all the details on saxophonist/songwriter/producer Max Swan's newest LP, 'Slow Jail', studying with Lenny Pickett (SNL, Tower of Power), his love of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, messing with genre, grief and how to deal with it, and his never ending search for his dining room table that he lost when his house flooded last year. 'Slow Jail' is out now and available anywhere you get digital music, pre-order the upcoming vinyl edition at Max's Bandcamp. 

Another wonderful conversation with Brett Leonard. We talk about anechoic chambers, recording, mixing, and all things audio; including tips for setting up a new audio studio. http://www.blpaudio.com/ Brett Leonard is a recording engineer, audio researcher and audio educator.  Currently, Dr. Leonard serves as the director of music technology programs at the University of Indianapolis.  Dr. Brett Leonard began his musical career as a percussionist, playing any and every genre and instrument he could get his hands on.  While in college, Dr. Leonard discovered the joys of the recording studio.  Shortly after, he received his bachelor's from California Lutheran University with a focus in music technology.  While attending CLU, he also spent time at the Aspen Music Festival, studying under such luminaries as John Eargle, Stephan Peus, and Ron Streicher.  After college, he moved to New York to pursue a Master's of Music Technology at New York University's Steinhardt School. Dr. Leonard has also served as lecturer at McGill University, where he recently completed a PhD in Music in the area of Sound Recording, and served the coordinator of music technology and assistant professor of music at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.   Dr. Leonard is also an active freelance recording engineer.  He has worked on projects ranging from orchestras to progressive jazz, hip-hop to classic rock, including projects with artist such as Lenny Pickett, Matt Haimovitz, Jerry Douglas, Cecile McLorrin Salvant, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and producers such as Russ Titelman, Bob Belden, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Devo Springsteen.  Dr. Leonard currently serves as the chief recording engineer for the Chelsea Music Festival in New York.  In 2007, he began BLPaudio, a company providing recording services, acoustical consulting, system design and equipment rental.  BLPaudio has since provided consulting services to numerous private studios, event spaces, performance venues, and institutions including the United National International School, the Musée de Beaux Arts Montréal, the Musical Instrument Museum and others.   As a researcher, Dr. Leonard focuses on spatial audio and the interplay between acoustics, instruments, and the recording process.  His work in spatial audio has included collaborations with Sennheiser, NHK, Swissaudec, and Skywalker Sound and has been published in more than 35 papers.  Dr. Leonard is active in the Audio Engineering Society (AES) as a member of the education committee, and as a member of the organizing committee for numerous conventions and conferences.

Saxophonist Lenny Pickett discusses his career straddling popular culture and the avant-garde, from his work with David Bowie and Saturday Night Live to his own ensemble work for dance, film, and the concert hall, illustrated with examples from 1984-2018 including the Borneo Horns, his score for choreographer Bebe Miller's Big Sleep, and plenty of gospel and R&B influenced pyrotechnics. https://roulette.org/

Saxophonist Lenny Pickett discusses his career straddling popular culture and the avant-garde, from his work with David Bowie and Saturday Night Live to his own ensemble work for dance, film, and the concert hall, illustrated with examples from 1984-2018 including the Borneo Horns, his score for choreographer Bebe Miller, and plenty of gospel and R&B influenced pyrotechnics. With appearances by Jack Bashkow and Stan Harrison on saxes; a quartet with Michael Wolff, piano, James Genus, bass, John Hadfield, percussion; and a duo with Cheryl Hardwick, piano.

It's All About The Bass (Part 5) Into The Woods With Stewart Strauss is a listener supported podcast. I thank you for your patronage, by liking and subscribing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! On this episode of #ITWWSS we're going to celebrate Black Music Month, and hear more from some of the best bassists to ever hold an upright, fretless or fretted bass! There will be plenty of great vocals, percussion, drums, horns, guitars, keyboards, instrumentals, live and studio tracks, and (did I mention) bassists? You'll hear from Chaka Khan and Rufus, Bill Withers, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Snow with the New York Rock and Soul Revue, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Stanley Clarke, and Tower Of Power (TOP) The emphasis is on the musicians we've heard our whole lives, but maybe didn't know who these most accomplished players were. As long as the music moves you, there isn't much more to know, unless you feel like taking a little deeper dive. Some of the bassists you'll hear in the episode are… Dennis Belfield, Jerry Knight, Paul Chambers, Jaco Pastorius, Larry Klein, Lincoln Schleifer, James Jamerson, Wilton Felder, Louis Johnson, Stanley Clarke, and Frances “Rocco” Prestia, The rest of the bands are powerhouse musicians too. Herbie Hancock, David Sanborn, Larry Carlton, Drew Zing, Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Jimmy Cobb, Narada Michael Walden, The Brecker Brothers, Sam and Dave, Vinnie Colaiuta, Michael Landau, Billy Cobham, Darren Johnson, Najee, David Garibaldi, Lenny Williams, Emilio Castillo, Bruce Conte, Mic Gillette, Stephen “Doc” Krupka, Lenny Pickett, Greg Adams, Chester Thompson, and many more. Please check out live performances of my original music, as well as cover songs, skits, and a new segment where I tell stories about meeting various icons of the entertainment industry, to promote this very podcast. All on the Sonny Michaels Show, June edition. Always available on YouTube. There's lots of great talent on the show, including a live performance from Acoustic Alchemy. I performed Bob Dylan's Tangled Up In Blue. Please tune in when the spirit moves you. Cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stewart-strauss/support

It's All About The Bass (Part 5)   Into The Woods With Stewart Strauss is a listener supported podcast. I thank you for your patronage, by liking and subscribing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!   On this episode of #ITWWSS we're going to celebrate Black Music Month, and hear more from some of the best bassists to ever hold an upright, fretless or fretted bass! There will be plenty of great vocals, percussion, drums, horns, guitars, keyboards, instrumentals, live and studio tracks, and (did I mention) bassists? You'll hear from Chaka Khan and Rufus, Bill Withers, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Snow with the New York Rock and Soul Revue, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Stanley Clarke, and Tower Of Power (TOP) The emphasis is on the musicians we've heard our whole lives, but maybe didn't know who these most accomplished players were. As long as the music moves you, there isn't much more to know, unless you feel like taking a little deeper dive.  Some of the bassists you'll hear in the episode are… Dennis Belfield, Jerry Knight, Paul Chambers, Jaco Pastorius, Larry Klein, Lincoln Schleifer, James Jamerson, Wilton Felder, Louis Johnson, Stanley Clarke, and Frances “Rocco” Prestia,  The rest of the bands are powerhouse musicians too. Herbie Hancock, David Sanborn, Larry Carlton, Drew Zing, Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Jimmy Cobb, Narada Michael Walden, The Brecker Brothers, Sam and Dave, Vinnie Colaiuta, Michael Landau, Billy Cobham, Darren Johnson, Najee, David Garibaldi, Lenny Williams, Emilio Castillo, Bruce Conte, Mic Gillette, Stephen “Doc” Krupka, Lenny Pickett, Greg Adams, Chester Thompson, and many more. Please check out live performances of my original music, as well as cover songs, skits, and a new segment where I tell stories about meeting various icons of the entertainment industry, to promote this very podcast. All on the Sonny Michaels Show, June edition. Always available on YouTube. There's lots of great talent on the show, including a live performance from Acoustic Alchemy. I performed Bob Dylan's Tangled Up In Blue. Please tune in when the spirit moves you. Cheers!

This week is the Season 1 finale. My guest is Tom Politzer. Tom is the lead tenor saxophone player for the funkiest band around TOWER OF POWER. Their website is https://towerofpower.com/ Tower just celebrated 50 years as a band and just released an incredible live album 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater This album captures Tower of Power's storied career with two no-holds-barred victory lap concerts in Oakland, CA on June 1 & 2, 2018, performing their full spectrum of life-affirming funk and soul hits. This historic concert includes special guests Chester Thompson, Lenny Pickett, Francis ‘Rocco' Prestia, Bruce Conte and Ray Greene. Tom was born in Detroit, Michigan the home of Motown and was raise in Palo Alto, Calif. His parents were opera lovers, so he grew up with a strong background in classical music. He took up the clarinet when he was ten and became very proficient playing in the school bands and with local youth orchestras. Half-way through his junior year in high school, the Jazz Band needed someone to fill the baritone sax chair. He was skeptical, but playing Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich and especially “Squib Cakes” by Tower of Power convinced him. Had he not made the switch; he probably would have not become the professional musician he is today. Tom has been a member to Tower of Power for 20 years now. He is part of a fraternity of amazing lead tenor players. Lenny Pickett, Marc Russo, Richard Elliot, Brandon Fields, and Davin Mann to name a few. The lead tenor chair in Tower is one of prestige and honor and Tom has filled that chair with his amazing sound and the hippest licks on every song. The leader of Tower of Power Emilio Castillo, was instantly impressed with Tom and his professionalism and if you watch their shows, he glows with pride every time Tom plays a solo. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yoel-hyman/support

A Minneapolis native, James moved to New York and studied at the School of American Ballet with David Howard, and began performing with ABT II. He was a lead dancer with Feld Ballets/NY for six years and has performed as a guest artist with the New York City Ballet, Zvi Gottheiner and Dancers, and Denishawn. He, along with co-founder Sally Rousse, started James Sewell Dance in NYC in 1990, and then moved the company to Minnesota in 1993.Ballet is the central technique of the company, but the goal has always been to expand the boundaries of the art form. James has choreographed more than 100 ballets for companies in the United States and around the world. He is recognized nationally by numerous fellowships and commissions over the course of three decades making work, and regularly develops pieces along with live musicians and artists of other idioms. His work Titicut Follies, in collaboration with famed documentarian Frederick Wiseman and SNL band-leader Lenny Pickett, made its European premier at the Cannes Festival de Danse in France in December 2019. Moving is moving, in every sense of the word, and his work as both choreographer and educator continually seeks to expand that notion and its reach.

Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon along with The Jeremy White Podcast present Tower Of Power. We sit down with Emilio Castillo & David Garibaldi to discuss.... TOWER OF POWER 50TH ANNIVERSARY - OUT MARCH 26 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater captures Tower of Power’s storied career with no-holds-barred victory lap concerts in Oakland, CA on June 1 & 2, 2018, performing their full spectrum of life-affirming funk and soul hits. Available as a 3-LP set, 2-CD/1-DVD package, standalone DVD and digital audio configuration, these historic performances include special guests Chester Thompson, Lenny Pickett, Francis ‘Rocco’ Prestia, Bruce Conte and Ray Greene. The full hi-res digital album will be available for exclusive streaming and download on Qobuz starting on February 26th, 2021! Support ROCK TALK WITH MITCH LAFON with a donation here: www.paylpal.me/MitchLafon   And follow on Twitter: @mitchlafon (Recorded February 2021)   Help support the show. Please consider a donation: https://www.paypal.me/MitchLafon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"SNL" saxophonist Lenny Pickett enters the Vibe Chamber.

In this episode, we geek out over Todd's favorite band and initiate Tim into the wonder that is East Bay soul - Oakland's own, Tower Of Power. Helping us along is music educator, working musician, funk aficionado, and friend of Todd, mister Jim Robins.We'll do a dive into Todd and Jim's favorite songs and albums from the band's 52 (and counting) year career, some hidden gems, and then go all fantasy football on their dream TOP line-ups! LINKS OF INTEREST:- As you may or may not know, our beloved BSG XO Michael Hogan needs some help these days. Here's GoFundMe to help him and his wife with medical expenses and care. Also consider following Fleet Is Family on Twitter for more information as well.- Here's some info about The Fantastics in case you were wondering- Here's the Tower Of Power wikipedia page, complete with discography and personnel through the years- Yeah, Jesse Maguire can knock the socks off the national anthem- And for comparison, here's TOP horns playing the national anthem with singer Marcus Scott. Dig that quote of "You're Still A Young Man" at the end!- Here's a video of Huey Lewis & The News backstage with the Tower Of Power horns sometime in the mid-80's - And while we're at it, here's what Huey and the boys sounded like with the mighty TOP horns backing them up- Todd was a complete dope. As anyone with any sense knows, that was Eddie Murphy talking about his Aunt Bunny falling down the stairs, not Richard Pryor- Here's Rocco Prestia with David Garibaldi, Lenny Pickett, and Jeff Tamalier playing some "Oakland Stroke" and "What Is Hip?". Stripped down like this, you can really hear the way the bass and drums fit together.- Here's the first ever Tower Of Power music video for "Credit" from back in the day.- And, as far as we know, here's their only other true music video, released some 30 years later for "Look In My Eyes"- Once again, Todd was a dope. The Saturday Night Live closing song is called "Waltz In A". ...AND ANOTHER THING:JIM heartily recommends checking out the first 11 studio albums by the band Chicago featuring Terry Kath.TODD implores you to watch the documentary "The Sheik" on YouTube and follow The Iron Sheik on Twitter.TIM is all about Jack White's musical performances on SNL from a couple weeks ago FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIAS:Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more of the internet funny.Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify!

Featured is saxophonist Lenny Pickett.

Tower of Power have been playing American R&B/Soul music with their world-renown horn section since 1968.  Along with their music releases, dozens of other bands and performers have tapped TOP's horn section to record on their albums.  Formed by Emilio Castillo and Stephen "Doc" Kupka, they are still blowing some mean horns today!  Tower of Power have spawned numerous world-class musicians throughout the years including Richard Elliot, Lenny Pickett, Chester Thompson and Euge Groove - just to name a few.  Award-winning program director Ray White catches up with Emilio and Doc backstage in March of 2009, to talk about the great talent that's been a part of the band throughout the years and about the making of The Great American Soulbook album.  Their latest project is Soul Side of Town.  In our "spotlight segment," our hostess Lisa Davis features the most well known vocalist of the bands' storied career - Lenny Williams, who still records and performs today.  His latest studio album is titled Still In The Game.  Learn more about our cutting-edge show by visiting http://www.cooolcat.com  

The best of jazz is aural poetry. The best of poetry swings and grooves. So it's not surprising that jazz and poetry have had a long and fruitful synergy. We decided to explore intriguing collaborations between jazz musicians and poets, from the icons of the Beat Generation to Amiri Baraka, from Federico Garcia Lorca to Emily Dickinson. And we'll celebrate a poet of the jazz trumpet, Tomasz Stanko, which has left us too soon. The playlist includes music and verses by Tomasz Stanko, Matt Wilson, Roy Nathanson, Andrew Cyrille, Allen Ginsberg, Bill Frisell, Lenny Pickett, William Burroughs, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Hal Willner, Jack Kerouac, Mark Murphy, Kip Hanrahan, Ishmael Reed, Ralph Alessi, Piri Thomas, William Parker, Amiri Baraka, Alexis Cuadrado, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Steve Lacy, Frank Carlberg, Jane Ira Bloom, Emily Dickinson, Susanne Abbuehl Detailed playlist available at https://spinitron.com/radio/playlist.php?station=rfb&month=Aug&year=2018&playlist=7363#here

It’s an iconic sound. Lenny Pickett’s saxophone solo during Saturday Night Live’s opening credits has become a hallmark of the show. Lenny talks with Sam about his responsibilities as bandleader, how he overcame his initial fears of performing on live television, and why he thinks music today is completely undervalued.

The Traneumentary: Lenny Pickett

The Traneumentary: Lenny Pickett

Saxophonist Lenny Pickett is featured.

Veteran saxophone player, Paul Sawtelle, has been paying his dues as a musician for over 30 years and he’s enjoyed every minute of it. As a top-shelf arranger, big band leader, funk, rock and blues band sideman, in-demand session player and featured soloist on scores of studio projects and live shows. He’s played for President Clinton, worked with Heart, opened for artists from Savoy Brown to Jonny Lang, appeared on national television shows and, in 2008, won a prestigious Spelleman Award, the Norwegian equivalent of The Grammy, for his horn arrangements and playing on Sony Music’s extraordinary blues band, Orbo and the Longshots album. When asked about the first music that inspired him as a player, he didn’t hesitate. “The first Chicago Transit Authority album had a tremendous impact on me. The mixture of rock and horns was inspiring and fresh. Seeing that band for the first time live was magical.” He also couldn’t get enough of other groove and horn based bands and players like Tom Scott, Tower of Power, Janis Joplin, Moby Grape, Blood, Sweat & Tears, David Sanborn, Lenny Pickett, Grover Washington, Jr. & Stanley Turrentine. The CD was recorded during the fall of 2014, at the legendary London Bridge Studio in Seattle with producer/engineer Geoff Ott. Paul gushed about the experience. “Geoff was laid back, patient and positive and he created an atmosphere conducive to artistic expression.” Jeffrey Ross, Kenny G’s first manager and no stranger to jazz, funk and R&B, served as Paul’s coach, mentor and co-producer during the sessions.  http://www.paulsawtelle.com

El guitarrista Bill Frisell fue el invitado de la NDR Big Band de Hamburgo para un concierto bajo la dirección del británico Michael Gibbs en el ÜberJazz Festival de 2013. Ese concierto se ha publicado bajo el título de "Play a Bill Frisell set list" y es nuestro octavo capítulo de "Directos de Jazz". En esta edición de 'Club de Jazz' del 15 de julio de 2015 escuchamos además el proyecto "High Risk" del trompetista Dave Douglas (con Jonathan Maron, Mark Guiliana y Shigeto). Dos valencianos publican disco: el pianista Alex Conde presenta "Descarga for Monk" y el saxofonista Juan Ull junto a su cuarteto firma "Ciudade". Además, la UMO Jazz Orchestra de Finlandia nos propone "The prescription" junto al saxofonista Lenny Pickett. Toda la información y derechos: http://www.elclubdejazz.com

El guitarrista Bill Frisell fue el invitado de la NDR Big Band de Hamburgo para un concierto bajo la dirección del británico Michael Gibbs en el ÜberJazz Festival de 2013. Ese concierto se ha publicado bajo el título de "Play a Bill Frisell set list" y es nuestro octavo capítulo de "Directos de Jazz". En esta edición de 'Club de Jazz' del 15 de julio de 2015 escuchamos además el proyecto "High Risk" del trompetista Dave Douglas (con Jonathan Maron, Mark Guiliana y Shigeto). Dos valencianos publican disco: el pianista Alex Conde presenta "Descarga for Monk" y el saxofonista Juan Ull junto a su cuarteto firma "Ciudade". Además, la UMO Jazz Orchestra de Finlandia nos propone "The prescription" junto al saxofonista Lenny Pickett. Toda la información y derechos: http://www.elclubdejazz.com

Ep. 119 - This week we bring you the final episode recorded at Life is Beautiful is Las Vegas. You may know our guest this week from Top Chef Masters, his New York restaurant Barbuto, or his famous roasted chicken.  But what many people may not know about Jonathan Waxman (the Obi Won Kenobi of the food world) is that he had a whole life as a professional trombone player before becoming a chef.  He tells us about seeing Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding in concert together, and the band he was in with Lenny Pickett called Lynks.  Plus at the end we talk about Music City Eats, the festival he started with the guys from Kings of Leon.  This week's podcast is sponsored by our friends at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, who made it possible for us to go to Life is Beautiful this year and record all these great episodes.  

This episode is available for subscribers only. Join us to listen. Saxophonist Lenny Pickett joins ANFTD to … The post ANFTD #21: Lenny Pickett (Subscribers Only) first appeared on Greenleaf Music by Dave Douglas.

George Zacharias "Nel cor pi√π non mi sento, Op. 38, MS 44" (mp3) from "Unaccompanied" (Divine Art) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody More On This AlbumArtist: George ZachariasIt takes a particular and extreme level of skill and dedication to perform virtuoso works for unaccompanied solo violin; suffice it to say these are qualities held by George Zacharias without doubt. This is a tour-de-force of musicianship and technique - and wonderful music too. Bartok's Sonata is presented in its original version and of the two awesome Paganini works, the 'God Save the King' Variations are very rarely heard. Dejan Laziƒ?, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Petrenko "Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18" (mp3) from "Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 - Moments Musicaux, Op. 16" (Channel Classics Records) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster More On This AlbumArtist: Dejan Lazic Pianist Dejan Lazic was born in Zagreb, Croatia, and grew up in Salzburg where he studied at the Mozarteum. He is quickly establishing a reputation worldwide as ìa brilliant pianist and a gifted musician full of ideas and able to project them persuasivelyî (Gramophone). The New York Times hailed his performance as ìfull of poetic, shapely phrasing and vivid dynamic effects that made this music sound fresh, spontaneous and impassionedî. As recitalist and soloist with orchestra, he has appeared at major venues in Berlin, Paris, London, Vienna, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Buenos Aires and Sydney, and at the Edinburgh, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, Huntington and Menuhin/Gstaad Festivals. In the 2006/2007 season he gave his debut at the New York Lincoln Center and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw to great critical acclaim. Orchestral engagements included the Philharmonia Orchestra London with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Rotterdam and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, Australian and Netherlands Chamber Orchestras, Danish Radio Sinfonietta and Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming engagements are with London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras and Basel Chamber Orchestra. He will be in season 2008/09 ìartist in residenceî at the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. He has a growing following in the Far East where he returns in spring 2008 for engagements with the Sapporo Symphony and for recitals in Tokyo and Beijing as well as for an engagement with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2009 a national Australian tour is planned with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. In the next season he will appear in recitals at the BBC Belfast, in Istanbul and Salzburg, Queen Elisabeth Hall London and at Vienna Musikverein to mention just a few. Alongside his solo career, Dejan Lazic is also a passionate chamber musician. He collaborates with artists such as Benjamin Schmid, Thomas Zehetmair, Gordan Nikolic and Richard Tognetti. Dejan records exclusively for Channel Classics. In autumn 2007 the first publication of the double portrait series with a Scarlatti/Bartok program is planned. The second CD will be released in 2008 with a Schumann/Brahms program as well as a recording of the Khachaturian Concerto and the Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and a CD with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2. His last recording of Schubertís sonata D960 and his earlier one with Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 have earned rave reviews. His compositions include various chamber music and orchestral works. In 2007/08 he will premiere his ìKinderszenenî op. 15 for piano solo. Album Notes: You're going to compose your concerto. You will work with great ease. The concerto will be of excellent qualitySo spoke Dr. Nikolai Dahl, of one of the pioneers of psychiatry in Russia, and in this way he successfully restored Sergey Rachmaninov's concentration during a period of creative despair after the failure of his first Symphony. Later, Rachmaninov himself was to write: ìEven though it seems unbelievable, this therapy truly helped me. I was already starting to compose by summer!îAlthough they were separated by the crisis which interrupted his work, both the second Piano Concerto and the ìMoments Musicauxî date from the composer's early period, during which he was active primarily as a composer rather than a pianist. This explains the character of the second Piano Concerto, which partakes of both chamber music and symphony, despite the dazzling virtuosity of the solo piano part. Unlike many of Rachmaninov's other works, the concerto, dedicated in thanks to his doctor, was never revised after the first performance-another indication of the ease and freshness with which Rachmaninov went to work.The formal simplicity (e.g., in the first movement: main theme in the minor, second theme in the relative major, the development section laid out as a large-scale accelerando with gradually increasing dynamics, recapitulation with both themes, although given out with different instrumentation) is just as classically conceived as the choice of tonalities for the three movements (opening and closing movements in C minor, the slow central movement in E major, just as in Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto, except for the introductory modulations), and the balanced alternation between the freely improvisatory, martially strict, and dancelike, as well as between polyphonic and homophonic writing. However, all three movements are in 2/2 time, making the frequent shifts between 2/2 and 3/2 in the third movement all the more refreshing....http://www.channelclassics.com/ New Century Saxophone Quartet "The Art of Fugue" (mp3) from "Bach: The Art of Fugue" (Channel Classics Records) Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster More On This AlbumArtist: New Century Saxophone QuartetThe New Century Saxophone Quartet is a pioneering and versatile group winning new-found enthusiasm for its diverse repertory of innovative contemporary works and imaginative adaptations comprising an extraordinary range of musical styles. The only ensemble of its kind to win First Prize of the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the quartet is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and in its home state from the North Carolina Arts Council. New Century has been heard in major concert venues and on radio and television throughout the Americas and Europe; in recordings for the Channel Classics label; and in unusual performance settings including two Command Performances for President Clinton at the White House, an appearance with the United States Navy Band, and a Chinese New Year broadcast seen by a television audience of over 300 million worldwide. Peter Schickeleís Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra is among the ensembleís numerous and widely-performed commissions and premieres, which also include works from Saturday Night Live bandleader Lenny Pickett, Bob Mintzer, Ben Johnston, David Ott, and Sherwood Shaffer. Album Notes:This project then is the culmination of over eight years studying, rehearsing, and performing Bach, and even in its "final" form on this disc represents a work in progress. As the quartet has discovered, one is never through learning Bach. Faced with the infinite possibilities of interpretation, one never plays it the same way twice. (Even in "extreme" interpretations, the music almost never suffers.) Also, one cannot spend this much time in the presence of the master without being fundamentally changed as a musician. The quartet has become keenly aware through this process that playing "The Art of Fugue" has changed everything ?ó the way they listen to each other, hear and experience an individual musical line and its relation to the surrounding parts, balance a chord or section of counterpoint, and even tune. The New Century Saxophone Quartet simply sounds different now, and they approach every piece, new and old, with a fresh perspective. It is their sincere desire to present the music of Bach in a way that is true to his intentions and the stylistic practices of the period, and yet with a vitality and freshness that can come from over 250 years of perspective. It is hoped you are as moved and inspired by the mastery of "The Art of Fugue" as they are.http://www.channelclassics.com/