Forget
what you think you know about Michael Lington. Now that he’s gone mainstream
with his career and consciousness shifting new album Soul Appeal, he’s full
steam ahead like no one’s ever heard him before, blazing a fresh, innovative
road for himself with a freewheeling immersion into the heart of the 60’s and
70’s Memphis Soul vibe. From his 1997 self-titled breakthrough album through
2012’s star-studded Pure, the charismatic saxophonist has wowed and surprised
his fans before. But he’s never had more fun, played more loose, solo’d more
intensely or improvised this expansively.
All of
the beloved saxophonist’s seven previous acclaimed albums, countless hit radio
singles and hundreds of awe inspiring live performances over the past 15 years
are now simply prelude to the fresh energy and live in the studio excitement he
created at Los Angeles’ legendary Sunset Sound with veteran R&B/pop
producer Barry Eastmond (Anita Baker, George Benson, Billy Ocean, Yolanda
Adams), Engineer Ray Bardani (Luther Vandross, Beyonce, David Sanborn) and a
handpicked group of his favorite musicians. These include a core pocket of
Freddie Washington (bass) and Teddy Campbell (drums), organist Shedrick
Mitchell, guitarists Paul Jackson, Jr., Ray Parker, Jr., Phil Hamilton and
percussionist Lenny Castro. Eastmond contributes to the retro sound with Fender
Rhodes, Wurlitzer and piano.
Soul
Appeal features nine vibrant, hip and contemporary yet drenched-in-retro-cool
originals (all co-written with Eastmond) and imaginative re-workings of the
King Curtis classics “In The Pocket” and a blazing, horn section infused
“Memphis Soul Stew.” The latter includes a playful rap by Campbell that
approximates the way Curtis introduced each instrument into the mix on the
original recording. Soul Appeal also includes two fresh vocal ballads with
renowned Grammy nominated vocalists that take everyone back to the days when
Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett reigned: “Gonna Love You Tonight” (featuring Kenny
Lattimore) and “Leave Me You” (co-written and sung by Ryan Shaw).
The
Eastmond/Lington instrumentals on Soul Appeal begin with the jamming and funky,
classic Stax-flavored opening title track, whose swirl of vibrant sax melody,
brooding organ and sizzling brass sets the stage for what Lington proudly calls
“a different kind of ride.” He calls the infectious and bluesy, easy rolling
“Taking Off” “the centerpiece of what we were trying to achieve, the twang of
the Memphis vibe,” while as its title promises, “Uptown Groove” finds Lington
soaring over organ and Rhodes in a brass fired landscape James Brown could
groove in.
The
silky and romantic “Manhattan Nights” blends Lington’s torchy sax lead with a
weepy lead guitar line and solo by Phil Hamilton that’s reminiscent of the
great Steve Cropper’s work. After another emotional and bluesy ballad, “Going
Home,” Lington and company swing back up for the jaunty funk-shuffle “Double
Down.” Soul Appeal wraps in a gorgeous stripped down, heart on the sleeve
place, with the beautiful Eastmond-Lington piano-sax duet “Follow Your Heart.”
This was recorded almost as a bonus track after the sessions wrapped and
everyone else had gone home.
Many
instrumental contemporary jazz artists tout their latest recording as
“different” or “something unique” when it’s more or less a variation on their
trademark thing. In the case of
Soul
Appeal, Lington will let two legendary musical voices verify the reality that
these sessions don’t just rattle that cage but joyfully transcend it. Lenny
Castro, whose thousands of recording credits include Sanborn, The Jacksons,
Eric Clapton, George Benson and Elton John, thanked the saxman after the
sessions with the words, “My soul is so musically satisfied.”
The
other legend paying Lington the ultimate compliment was Steve Perry of Journey,
a friend of Eastmond who came to the studio to check out the first session and
kept returning because he was so inspired by the recording as it unfolded. He
became friends with Lington and regaled the musicians on their lunch breaks,
singing Sam Cooke tunes. At one point Perry told the saxophonist, “Thanks for
letting me hang out, You helped me get back my emotional compass.”
That’s
the perfect term to describe the way Lington’s musical life was changed as a
teenager, when his interest in the soul-influenced contemporary jazz by David
Sanborn and Grover Washington, Jr. led him down a delightful rabbit hole of
discovery into the heart of American soul music. He loved it all, from Jr.
Walker and King Curtis to Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett. Up till that time, he
was a straight arrow classical clarinet player playing in the Tivoli Boys
Guard, a miniature queens guard and marching band comprised of kids 8-16.
“This
was the music that made me want to play the sax, all of that American R&B
and instrumental funk becoming part of my soul in my mid-teens,” he says. “I’m
not trying to discount any of my other records because I like them all, but my
approach here was fresh and very different than anything I had done before.
When you enter a space like this, where you’re by design tracking with a live
band for the first time instead of building tracks layer by layer, you don’t
know what’s going to happen. What made this so magical was that I was there in
the trenches with the band for the entire process, working out arrangements and
parts as we went along. I wanted to just completely let go and let it flow all
the way – which opened me up and liberated me as a player. The result might not
be perfect in the conventional sense, but it’s not supposed to be. This record
is all about feel and vibe.”
Lington,
who became a U.S. citizen in 2008, has performed numerous times for the Danish
royal family, including the wedding reception of Crown Prince Frederik, the
country’s future king. In addition, the saxophonist have done extended stints
as a special guest with many other musical superstars, including Barry Manilow,
Bobby Caldwell, Randy Crawford and Michael Bolton. On Bolton’s tour, he played
more than 300 shows in over 50 countries. One of its many highlights was
performing in London’s famed Royal Albert Hall and also performing and meeting
former President Bill Clinton at a special show at the Kuwait embassy.
Lington
also manages his own cigar company, Michael Lington Cigars
(www.michaellingtoncigars.com), and he recently launched Lington Wines (www.lingtonwine.com),
his own boutique line of red and white wines out of Paso Robles on California’s
Central Coast.
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