Lenny Pickett is best known as the tenor saxophonist of the Saturday Night Live Band, he is one of the virtuosos of the altissimo saxophone. The altissimo register is a technique that almost seems like a requirement for today’s saxophonists. It is based on harmonics and allows you to hit notes above the normal range of the saxophone.

For example, it is possible to play a low Bb (the lowest note on the instrument) and by changing the embouchure and air stream to blow out the full series of harmonics of the low Bb (middle Bb, middle F, high Bb, high D, F high, etc.) This technique can be clearly heard in the well-known Saturday Night Live opening theme.

Lenny pass says this about his equipment, in response to numerous questions: “I play a Selmer Paris Mark VI tenor (circa 1970) with a Berg Larsen 130 over 0 (SMS) mouthpiece and a Vandoren number 3 bass clarinet reed (blue box ). “

Pickett, born in New Mexico in 1954, is proficient not only on the saxophone, but also on the flute and clarinet. After dropping out of high school at Berkeley, he spent a brief period studying with Bert Wilson, but surprisingly, aside from the fact that the instruction is entirely self-taught on the saxophone. He’s not seen as a traditional jazz musician, but he’s best shown in short bursts of color, bringing the life of his trumpet to center stage in R&B and rock arrangements. He is well known for his funky style and ability to make the sax “scream”.

Pickett played with the Tower of Power horns from 1972 to 1981, and traveled the world with them. Tower of Power still goes a long way today, albeit without Pickett. They released several Top 100 albums throughout Pickett’s career with them. Tower of Power played in many styles, from soul to funk to disco, and Pickett’s virtuoso touch felt right at home in all of them.

Tower of Power’s horns section has been featured with a variety of other artists, including Santana, Heart, Poison, Phish, and more. Since then, he has performed live and recorded with Rod Stewart, Elton John, Little Feat, Peter Gordon’s Love of Life Orchestra, Doc Kupka’s Strokeland Superband, and many jazz and rock albums and film and television soundtracks. Pickett’s management biography describes his music as “polyphonic extravagances that hit the ground running with r & b, funk, swing, Latin influence, and avant-garde; the trumpet lines intertwine, changing and increasing in intensity. “.

He has worked as a saxophonist and arranger for David Bowie, the Talking heads, and Laurie Anderson. As a composer, he has been commissioned to write works combining classical and popular ideas for a variety of ensembles, including the New Century Saxophone Quartet. Due to his strange and wild self-taught style, his techniques are endlessly discussed on internet forums, where players speculate on his fingering, whether he’s using double or triple tounging, and often wonder “What is Pickett doing! ?! ??! ” “

He is currently Professor of Jazz Saxophone at New York University.