Lenny Pickett playing with Paul Simon on SNL40 the other night, "Still Crazy After All These Years"
Video wasn't loading for me at the time, but Lenny Pickett's sound and style has always captivated me. The SNL music has surpassed the skits in my opinion.
Absolutely! Lenny has a very interesting and unique approach to improvisation that has been fueled by his mastery of the extended range of the horn. It's so awesome that he is heard by millions every Saturday night. The band has been sounding fantastic the past few seasons.
I'm very tempted to ask r/rSaxophonics about other artists or songs that sound like the SNL intros/outros. I love that stuff. This song is on my top favorites A Waltz in 'A'. It's Lenny playing. He is scary in that upper range!!! Do you have any suggestions on similar tunes?
Check out some of Michael Brecker's stuff, but it's jazzier. No one else really plays much like Lenny because what he does is so ridiculously hard. Check out his album and he's been on a ton of recordings.
Section 1. Discography of article Lenny Pickett:
As leader
Lenny Pickett with the Borneo Horns
The Prescription (feat. UMO Jazz Orchestra)
Other appearances
David Byrne and [St. Vincent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.Vincent(musician)) – "Weekend in the Dust" on Love This Giant
Saxophone Solo on Album version of Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"
1972 Why Don't You Try Me? - Earth Quake
1973 Tower of Power - Tower of Power
1973 Betty Davis - Betty Davis
1974 Back to Oakland - Tower of Power
1974 Caribou - Elton John
1974 In the Beginning - Roy Buchanan
1974 Link Wray Rumble - Link Wray
1974 Monkey Grip - Bill Wyman
1974 Ron Gardner - Ron Gardner
1974 Free Bear And Chicken - John Lee Hooker
1974 For My Love … Mother Music - Jose Feliciano
1974 Release Yourself - Graham Central Station
1974 Insane Asylum - Kathi McDonald
1974 Monsieur - Hiroshi Kamayatsu
1974 Jezebel - Mary McCreary
1974 Feats Don't Fail Me Now - Little Feat
1975 In the Slot - Tower of Power
1975 Not a Little Girl Anymore - Linda Lewis
1975 Rescue Me - Roy Buchanan
1975 Secret Sauce - Skyking
1975 Urban Renewal - Tower of Power
1975 Tales From The Ozone - Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
1975 Change - Spanky & Our Gang
1975 Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan - Rufus
1975 Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It - Graham Central Station
1975 Rise Sleeping Beauty - Lenny Williams
1976 Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now - Tower of Power
1976 Chameleon - Labelle
1976 Live and in Living Color - Tower of Power
1976 Mirror - Graham Central Station
1976 Nine on a Ten Scale - Sammy Hagar
1976 Stone Alone - Bill Wyman
1976 Tom Thumb - Michael Dinner
1976 A Night On The Town - Rod Stewart
1976 Impact - Impact
1976 Affectionate - R. C. Succession
1976 Hard Candy - Ned Doheny
1976 Hometown Boy Makes Good - Elvin Bishop
1976 In Touch - Tommy James
1976 The Keane Brothers - The Keane Brothers
1976 The Lost Heritage Tapes - John Kay & Company
1976 Act Like Nothing's Wrong - Al Kooper
1976 Gavin Christopher - Gavin Christopher
1976 White Bird - David LaFlamme
1976 Jaye P. Morgan - Jaye P. Morgan
1976 Billy Preston - Billy Preston
1977 Supersonic Lover - Brian & Brenda Russell
1977 Big City - Lenny White
1977 Choosing You - Lenny Williams
1977 Funk in a Mason Jar - Harvey Mason
1977 New Directions - The Meters
1977 Nielsen Pearson Band - Nielson/Pearson Band
1977 Right on Time - The Brothers Johnson
1977 Time Loves a Hero - Little Feat
1977 Marin County Line - New Riders Of The Purple Sage
1977 Red - Sammy Hagar
1977 An Insatiable High - Masayoshi Takanaka
1977 Good News - Attitudes
1977 Disco Fantasy - Thomas "Coke" Escovedo
1977 Feel The Fire - Jermaine Jackson
1977 God Only Knows (45 RPM) - Marilyn Scott
1977 Funk In A Mason Jar - Harvey Mason
1977 Right On Time - The Brothers Johnson
1977 New Directions - The Meters
1977 The Tim Weisberg Band - The Tim Weisberg Band
1977 Sierra - Sierra
1977 Patrick Gleeson's Star Wars - Patrick Gleeson –
1978 Frontiers - Jermaine Jackson
1978 In Tails - King Biscuit Flower Hour - Journey & Friends
1978 Before the Rain - Lee Oskar
1978 Desert Horizon - Norton Buffalo
1978 Dinner with Raoul - Bliss Band
1978 Jesse Barish - Jesse Barish
1978 Crimson Tide - Crimson Tide
1978 Tattoo Man - Denise McCann
1978 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Original Soundtrack - Peter Frampton
1978 Waiting for Columbus - Little Feat
1978 We Came to Play - Tower of Power
1978 What Have You Done for Love - Hodges, James & Smith
1978 Jet Lag - Nick Chavin
1978 Never Even Thought - Colin Blunstone
1978 What Have You Done For Love - Hodges Smith & James
1978 Winner - Renee Geyer
1979 Back on the Streets - Tower of Power
1979 Everything You've Heard Is True - Tom Johnston
1979 Live & Learn- Elkie Brooks
1979 Richard Evans - Richard Evans
1979 Silent Letter - America
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Lenny is an immortal sax god.
Lenny Pickett to me as a saxophonist means so much. His sound is what I strive for. He is the probably my favorite saxophonist of all time.
Love it, although he biffed a key part of the build up and on into the ckimax when his altissimo wouldn't come out. I love Lenny and I love this particular solo so I was watching the performance intently. He recovered just fine.
If anyone is curious, check out the Concert in Central Park version, which was Gerry Niewood on tenor.
Shouldn't he be dressed up as a turkey or something?