He is a musician, an entrepreneur and an overwhelming talent on stage and in person. Michael Lington is an authentic musician who has brought up to two times his Soul and Jazz to Madrid.
Michael Lington is a Danish-American contemporary saxophonist, songwriter, producer, recording artist and a purveyor of soul and contemporary jazz. Lington has released 11 solo albums and has 25 singles that have charted on the Billboard and Radio & Records (R&R) contemporary jazz radio charts.
Over the course of his career, Lington has collaborated with Michael Bolton, Barry Manilow, Aaron Neville, Mike Love, Randy Crawford, Bobby Caldwell, Kenny Lattimore, Ryan Shaw, Little Richard, Joan Sebastian, Cristian Castro, Booker T. Jones, The Dap-Kings, Ray Parker, Jr., Taylor Dayne, Brian Culbertson, Chuck Loeb, William Bell, Dave Stewart, Vince Gill, Sheléa , and many others.
Lington has performed at the Royal Wedding of Denmark’s future king, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary Donaldson at Fredensborg Castle and has also played numerous other times for the Danish royal family. He is the grandson of Danish composer and band leader Otto Lington.
At 15, he became influenced by saxophonists David Sanborn and King Curtis and by American soul music artists like Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles, which precipitated his decision to take on the saxophone as an instrument of choice.He also competed in the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidene / Rhythmic Conservatory music youth competition where he won First Prize in 1987 and won the Gold Prize in 1988.
In 1990, Lington moved to Los Angeles with the assistance of drummer Mark Schulman and soon became heavily involved in LA’s contemporary jazz scene.
As sidelights of the Michael Lington:
- He has toured regularly his entire career, averaging 60-80 shows per year.
- His style has been described as “soulful and authentic.” He plays alto, tenor and soprano sax, although he favors the alto sax for his solo projects.
- He owns a company of wines: Lington Wines based in California’s central Paso Robles region, as well as a cigar company, Michael Lington Cigars, which manufactures its product in Honduras. He’s served as a cigar columnist for Wine and Jazz magazine.
- He has been twice playing in Madrid for Smooth Hot Jazz: First time in 2018 at the #HotConcerts and second time with Paul Taylor on stage at the second edition of Smooth Hot Jazz Festival.
If you want to discover more about Michael Lington, read the exclusive interview for Smooth Hot Jazz:
1. You are a lover of the Soul and, as you recognizes in your biography, it has influenced you a lot. Who are the artists that have most influenced your career?
David Sanborn, Ray Charles, King Curtis, Otis Redding, Grover Washington Jr.
2. Your music has evolved over the years. Have you tried to adapt to the most modern sounds or is it simply a matter of maturity?
Yes my music have evolved because I have evolved and matured I think. In a way I feel I’m getting in touch with my roots with my 3 latest albums because I was so influenced by soul music growing up.
3. You were born in Denmark but have lived many years in the United States. How do you find the Smooth Jazz panorama in Europe with respect to the United States? Do you think it’s growing?
When I grew up in Denmark, smooth jazz didn’t really exist, It was just considered instrumental music or maybe contemporary jazz. Once I started making my own records, smooth jazz in the US was very popular but not really happening in Europe, Now it is, so I feel it’s growing.
4. In addition to music, it is dedicated to wine and cigars. What led to this?
Cigars and wine are 2 other passions of mine. I’ve been lucky to meet business partners in both ventures that have helped make it happen
5. You has worked with Barry Eastmond on several albums, including his last release on 2018, Silver Lining, why is it special to work with him? What stands out in this work compared to the last ones?
Barry Eastmond and I found a great work rhythm – it just works I feel. We also write most of the music together. The biggest reason I think is that Barry is a great barometer for music because the most important thing for these albums are that the music feels really good and stays organic and raw and he really makes sure of that.
Michael Lington last album, A Foreign Affair Christmas, was released November 8, 2019 with the lead-off track being George Michael’s Last Christmas featuring French Keyboardist and Vibraphonist Philippe Saisse. The album is produced by Michael Lington, Mixed by Paul Brown and Mastered by Bernie Grundman.
The album contains 9 traditional Christmas songs with arrangement styles that includes Jazz, Latin, Cuban, R&B and Gospel. It features an international line-up of guest artists including: Vince Gill, Philippe Saisse, Marc Antoine, Chris Standring, Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Sheléa and Russ Freeman. Musicians on the album includes: Gregg Phillinganes, Paul Jackson Jr, Luis Conte, Alex Al, Eric Valentine, David Garfield, Luis Conte, and more.
