Michael Lington: He’s a White Guy, But His Saxophone Doesn’t Know It

On Aug. 9, Lington will take his talents to the Long Beach Jazz Festival.

Aug 6, 14 by Cory Alexander Haywood 
*On stage, he shines like a freshly polished trumpet. In his recording studio, he creates smooth blends of intoxicating music.  Michael Lington isn’t your ordinary Jazz musician. For starters, he’s a white guy from Copenhagen, Denmark. More importantly, he’s a world-class saxophone player and he has carved his own place among the biggest and brightest instrumentalists in R&B.

On Aug. 9, Lington will take his talents to the Long Beach Jazz Festival. The two-day event attracts locals and tourists from all over the world. For Lington, it’s merely another stop on his journey to super stardom.

“I’m thrilled to have reached this point in my career,” he explained during an interview. “It’s a culmination of many hours perfecting my sound in the studio. I’m honored and humbled by the opportunity.”

Raised in a small town, Lington spent his adolescence preparing to add his own chapter to the annals of Jazz history. He might not have known it then, but the road he decided to travel was paved in sweat from predominately black performers and singers. That didn’t discourage him from picking up a clarinet and recreating versions of hit songs from some of his favorite Jazz artists, however.

As he grew older, his taste in music evolved. Lington was no longer satisfied with bland melodies—he craved flavor, kick and spice. After hearing a jazz record play over the radio, Lington fell in love with the sound of rattling high hats, crackling snare drums, and whistling brass horns. Inspired and hungry for a career in music, he chose to play the saxophone—an instrument that has helped him achieve ample success and international fame.

“I’ve always had a huge attraction to American music,” he said during his interview with EUR’s Lee Bailey. “I had this dream of living in a America and making a living playing music.

He continued, “When I was growing up, we had government owned radio stations. They were controlled by one governing body of people. One hour, the music would be classical; the next hour it would be instrumental; the next hour was soul music; and so on. I got hooked on the saxophone and the rest is history. It was like a ripple effect. I browsed through record stores and bought vinyl albums of my favorite musicians at the time. That’s how I got started.”

Read more at http://www.eurweb.com/2014/08/michael-lington-hes-a-white-guy-but-his-saxophone-doesnt-know-it/#viEjjua2cXx20Zve.99