| Lenny Pickett is best known as the tenor saxophonist | | | | 1972 to 1981, and toured the world with them. Tower |
| of the Saturday Night Live Band, he is one of the | | | | of Power still tours extensively today, though without |
| virtuosos of altissimo saxophone. The altissimo register | | | | Pickett. They released multiple Top 100 albums over |
| is a technique that almost seems like a requirement for | | | | the course of Pickett's career with them. Tower of |
| saxophonists today. It's based on harmonics and | | | | Power played in many styles, from soul to funk to |
| enables you to achieve notes above the normal range | | | | disco, and Pickett's virtuoso playing felt at home in all of |
| of the saxophone. | | | | them. |
| For example, it is possible to finger a low Bb (the | | | | Tower of Power's horns section has performed with |
| lowest note on the instrument) and by changing the | | | | a variety of other artists including Santana, Heart, |
| embouchure and air stream to blow the full overtone | | | | Poison, Phish, and more. He has since performed live |
| series of the low Bb (middle Bb, middle F, high Bb, high | | | | and recorded with Rod Stewart, Elton John, Little Feat, |
| D, high F, and so on.) This technique can be heard | | | | Peter Gordon's Love of Life Orchestra, Doc Kupka's |
| clearly in the well known opening theme to Saturday | | | | Strokeland Superband, and many rock and jazz |
| Night Live. | | | | albums and film and television soundtracks. Pickett's |
| Lenny passes says this about his equipment, in | | | | management's bio describes his music as "polyphonic |
| response to numerous inquiries: "I play a Selmer Paris | | | | extravaganzas which manage to touch base with |
| Mark VI tenor (circa 1970) with a Berg Larsen 130 over | | | | r&b, funk, swing, Latin influence and the |
| 0 (SMS) mouthpiece and a number 3 Vandoren (blue | | | | avant-garde; horn lines twist around one another, |
| box) bass clarinet reed." | | | | shifting and building in intensity." |
| Pickett, born in New Mexico in 1954, is competent not | | | | He has worked as a saxophonist and arranger for |
| only with saxophone, but also on flute and clarinet. | | | | David Bowie, the Talking heads, and Laurie Anderson. |
| After dropping out of high school in Berkeley, he spent | | | | As a composer he has been commissioned to write |
| a brief period studying under Bert Wilson, but | | | | works mixing classical and popular ideas for a variety |
| amazingly, other than that instruction is entirely self | | | | of ensembles including the New Century Saxophone |
| taught on the saxophone. Not viewed as a traditional | | | | Quartet. Due to his strange and wild self taught style, |
| jazz player, he is best showcased in short bursts of | | | | his techniques are endlessly discussed on Internet |
| color bringing the life of his horn to center stage in | | | | forums, where players speculate on his fingering, |
| R&B and rock arrangements. He is well known | | | | whether or not he's using double or triple tounging, |
| for his funky style, and his ability to make the sax | | | | often asking each other "What is Pickett doing?!??!" |
| "scream." | | | | He is currently a professor of jazz saxophone for |
| Pickett played with the Tower of Power horns from | | | | New York University. |