Jazz Monthly.com Interview with Michael Lington

“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview” Michael Lington

Smitty: Well, I’m always excited to welcome back one of the great sax players in the business and a good friend. He’s got some seriously cool saxabilities and he’s about to release a great new record called A Song For You. It’s a great follow-up from his last hit record, Stay With Me, and I must say this record is one where he’s breaking some new ground and it’s a fantastic project. You’ve got to hear this one. He’s got some great tunes on here and I can’t say enough about this great record. Please welcome the great sax cat Mr. Michael Lington. Michael, how you doing, brother?

Michael Lington (ML): I’m terrific and I’m so glad you’re calling it a record because I still call them records.

Smitty: Yeah man.

ML: People keep on correcting me, but it’s folks like you that back up what I… (Laughs.) I thought all the way that it’s okay to call it a record.

Smitty: Yeah, man, absolutely.

ML: Yeah. Plus it kinda has that record feel to it, right?

Smitty: Exactly, yeah.

ML: I mean, it is almost like a step 30 years ago, you know what I mean? It’s like back into the future 30 years ago and it has that record quality. That was sort of the whole purpose of this album, was to sort of recapture what, in my opinion, we have gotten a little bit away from where an album consists of not one single and then 10 fillers, but basically 11 great songs. Each has its own personality and you pay just as much attention to each and every single song and then go in and record them live with the greatest musicians in the world and having them arranged. You know what I mean?

Smitty: Yes.

ML: Picking songs that people can relate to, have an emotional connection to, with great melodies, all of that good stuff.

Smitty: Yeah, and I totally connected. I mean, I was totally digging it from the first song on the record because it’s got such a feel to where it sort of pulls you in. It’s one of those records that you just put it on, you don’t have to skip through, it’s one of those records where you just let it play.

ML: Yes.

Smitty: And it’s a great record to chill with too.

ML: Yeah, well, it’s interesting for me to hear how other people perceive it because there’s a lot of things that I don’t realize at the time on how this affects people. I can only go with my gut, I can only go with what turns me on. And I believe that I’m not that different than most other folks. They wanna be moved by music. They don’t want musical wallpaper. You wanna feel like you’re a part of it, that you’re feeling something when you hear it. And that was one of the things that I was paying so much attention to, to pick songs that are really emotionally valuable, and also in my playing I tried to really focus and communicate to my audience, and Dave Koz was a big help in this where one of the things he said from the beginning, he said “Remember this: you’ve got a full orchestra, you’ve got the best musicians, you’ve got the greatest arranger. I mean, you can’t do anything better than that. I mean, you could play one note and it’ll still sound great.”

Smitty: (Laughs.) Yeah.

ML: “But let’s not forget, still, let’s not get lost in all this lushness. Still remember that at the end of the day it comes down to you, your instrument, and the audience. You have to tell a story, I have to believe it.”

Smitty: He’s right.

ML: I couldn’t agree more, and so that was some of the things that with that in mind I’d go in and record, knowing that that’s the type of impact you need to have.

Smitty: Yeah, and I think you did. I think you grabbed it spot on because you said something about music being something that you feel.

ML: Right.

Smitty: And I’ve said for so long that music is not only for the ears, but it’s for the heart.

ML: Oh, it’s mostly for the heart.

Smitty: Yeah, you’ve got to feel it, you know?

ML: Yes, yeah. And if you noticed, there are actually no harmonies on the record. I’m kinda known for having those big pop choruses with 13 saxes coming in and I’m playing harmony with myself.

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: Not one. Just me. Pure. Did you notice?

Smitty: I noticed it right away. I said okay…

ML: Just me and my horn. That’s it.

Smitty: Yep, I said this is a Michael Lington record! (Laughs.)

ML: Right.

Smitty: Well, I love some of the titles on here. Talk to me a little bit about some of the cats in the band before we get into the music.

ML: Okay. Well, yes. Well, let me put it to you this way: I’m a dreamer. I’m a big believer in dreaming and going for your dreams…this one person told me a long time ago that if you think of this, in the universe…I’m not gonna get heavy on you.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

ML: But in the universe, in what we know as the world, there’s nothing here that basically you can’t have. Everything is here. It’s just a matter of go on and get it.

Smitty: Yep.

ML: It’s already here. Everything is created that you want, right?

Smitty: Yep.

ML: All the accolades, you just have to earn them; all the money, whatever you want out of this world is already here, so it’s now just for you to go and find it. And with that in mind, I said okay, I’m gonna put together a dream band. You know, like if I could pick anybody in the whole world regardless of where they live on the earth and wherever, and that’s where I started, thinking that if I got one of those, I would be in great shape, right?

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: Okay. They all came. My dream band is who is on my record. And I had to pinch myself during every single song when I’m sitting recording with these folks, going “Wait a minute. I know why they’re here. They’re here earning a paycheck, but what the heck am I doing here? I’m just a cat from Copenhagen, came over here with a saxophone and a suitcase and a big dream, and now I’m sitting here with people that I would sit and look at albums, my favorite albums, 25 years ago, of all these musicians and they’re here in the studio recording with me now.” I mean, it is such a surreal feeling, but it also is such an intense feeling of accomplishment and a sort of pat on the back saying “You know what? You took chances, you did it, and it worked out okay.”

Smitty: Absolutely.

ML: But anyways, talking about who it is, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Dean Parks on guitar, Randy Waldman on keyboards, Brian Bromberg on upright bass, and Luis Conte on percussion, okay? You can’t do any better than that. And it was great, we went in and it was all arranged, but the reality is with such great musicians that have so much experience, every single person added to this record.

Smitty: Absolutely.

ML: They came in and they contributed and they put their thing on it, and we had the top session orchestra of Los Angeles who does all the film music. I mean, the “A” session players, the people doing the Warner Brothers soundtracks, the big stuff, and that is who is on my record and it’s pretty unbelievable.

Smitty: Yeah, absolutely.

ML: (Laughs.) But I love it.

Smitty: Yeah. And, now, talk about the first single for radio.

ML: You know, on this particular record, knowing what I just told you as far as paying as much attention to each song?

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: I was not a part of that at all, not that I really ever am, but it was like, for me, I always have my own favorites.

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: And then you let the record company and the people doing that type of single selection do their job, but with this record they could’ve pretty much picked anything and it really didn’t matter to me, so at that point it’s just a matter of what, I guess, what they wanted to go with, you know?

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: The single “It’s Too Late” is just a great song, you know? I mean, it’s a famous song. It’s probably one of the more famous songs on the album. That was the other thing: I tried to pick songs that hadn’t been beaten to death, you know what I mean?

Smitty: Mm-hmm.

ML: With instrumental covers. As a matter of fact, without even doing any research as far as what songs had been covered before, the interesting part of the song selection is that I have asked, just asked people, whether they were at the label or music people, I said “Have you ever heard an instrumental version of any of these songs, whether it’s guitar or sax or keyboards?” And not one person can tell me they have ever heard one of these songs.

Smitty: And that’s a beautiful thing. (Laughs.)

ML: I didn’t even purposely do that. These songs were just selected from a big list of my all-time favorite songs and songs that inspired me to become who I am and who I am today.

Smitty: You selected some great songs, and I like “It’s Too Late.” In fact, I remember that one very well. I could still listen to Carole King sing that one.

ML: Oh yeah, oh yeah.

Smitty: It’s just a beautiful tune.

ML: That’s the other thing: all of these songs here, the artists, because they were singer-songwriters basically, the artists, the original versions of these songs were great, all of them. So that was the other thing. It was a big challenge to…well, I should say, it’s a big responsibility to do something with these songs. You can’t just do what they did because it’s already there. I mean, you’ve got to really come up with something unique in order for it to work and that’s why if you listen, a lot of the songs have brand new intros on them.

Smitty: Yes.

ML: They’re brand new composed. They were not a part of the original songs. Some of them have sort of an interlude or a middle section of the song composed. “Nobody Does It Better,” that whole orchestral interlude, that wasn’t part of the original. We have switched sections, we have added solo sections, plus every single song has been very creatively re-harmonized. They’ve been redone as far as the structure of the harmonies of the song to make it so when you hear…and I know that it might sound a little technical and most people that listen to music, they don’t know, and I understand they don’t know how this harmony is different than the original, but what they do know is what they hear. It’s like “Okay, well, it sounds cool, but it’s different than the original.” It’s like they can hear something that’s a little bit different.

Smitty: Yeah, I totally agree.

ML: And that’s all they need to know. They don’t need to know the technical part of it, but as long as you keep homage to the original but then you put a fresh breath of air into these songs. That’s real important also.

Smitty: Absolutely, and you did just that, my friend, this is a great mix of music and I must take my hat off to everyone involved with this because the whole mixing and mastering, the whole thing, I mean, you can feel such so much emotion with this record.

ML: It has a certain sound to it, would you agree?

Smitty: Oh yeah.

ML: There’s an elegant kind of sound to it.

Smitty: Yeah, yeah, that’s it.

ML: And I kinda had a feeling it was gonna be like that once we had started the recording because even when we were listening to unmixed tracks…I mean, it couldn’t be more unmixed, right?

Smitty: Mm-hmm.

ML: Not put in perspective, and it still sounded great. I played it for some people. They thought it was the finished record.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

ML: I mean, it didn’t matter what I did to this record, I couldn’t screw it up.

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: At any stage I could completely change the levels and do nothing with it and it still sounded great. So I had a feeling I was in good shape. (Laughs.)

Smitty: Yeah, and I think the title of the record is appropriate. I mean, it’s A Song For You.

ML: Exactly.

Smitty: And everyone can find a song in there.

ML: For them, exactly.

Smitty: Yeah, that they remember…

ML: Right.

Smitty: …and that brings back memories, you know?

ML: And titles are hard, especially when it comes to either instrumental songs or albums, and how do you, with a title, capture what is the essence of the album, right?

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: In my opinion, it has to be descriptive and A Song For You, we kept on coming back to that title, not so much because we had the song “A Song For You” on the album, but just because there’s two things it describes: it talks about the songs, and basically it’s all about the songs.

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: And then the “for you” part? It’s a personal thing. Like this is a personal record for me and it has sort of a very personal touch to it and it describes it well.

Smitty: Yes, it does. I could totally feel that, man, absolutely. What’s the release date?

ML: September 26.

Smitty: All right, and you’re putting together a tour, I’m sure, for this record.

ML: Well, first what we’re doing is on the day of release, September 26, we are going to embark on a promotional tour where I will be starting on the East Coast, moving west, basically visiting radio stations, doing interviews, doing in-store appearances, signing CD’s, some of the stations are throwing parties for me, we’re gonna have a bunch of listeners down, and this stuff is being worked on right now, they’re being arranged right now, and it’s gonna basically end up around the 21st of October, where I will be going to Las Vegas with my band, and then we’re gonna do an L.A. record release party, even though it comes out in September.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

ML: We’re gonna do an L.A. sorta end-of-promotional-tour-release-big-deal-party at the El Rey Theatre on November 1st where I’m gonna have an orchestra and we’re gonna do a whole red carpet event, and it’s gonna be beautiful.

Smitty: Wow, dude!

ML: Yeah.

Smitty: I wanna go! (Laughs.)

ML: Well, you can go.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

ML: As a matter of fact, you should be there.

Smitty: I will come out for that one, Michael.

ML: Okay.

Smitty: I’m coming out, brother. (Laughs.)

ML: Yeah.

Smitty: That is fantastic, man. I like that approach too.

ML: Oh, it’s old school.

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: This is how they used to promote your albums. You’d go out and talk to anybody who wanted to listen to what you have to say.

Smitty: Yes, I like that, man.

ML: And nobody does it. It’s become very mechanical and it’s gotten a little lost in the shuffle too, and I wanna be out there, I wanna talk to everybody, and I wanna tell people how excited I am about this record because of course I’m excited about every record that gets released, but you gotta understand that this is a record I’ve wanted to make for 10 years, okay? It’s not every day you get to make a record with a full orchestra.

Smitty: I know.

ML: Mostly when you tell labels you wanna make an album with an orchestra, they start running in the other direction really quick.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

ML: Okay? Because it is not an easy affair to deal with. It is a lotta folks, it’s a lotta money, it’s a lot of other things that goes with that. And I so much applaud Rendezvous (Entertainment) for going on this journey with me because, yeah, it’s a whole ‘nother thing when people say “Yeah, well, I have a new record, it’s really different.” Well, I’m sure it is to the artist and I’ve even said it myself, but the reality is that the perception for the people that buy or listen to the album, it really is not that different, you know what I mean?

Smitty: Right.

ML: And it’s within the same sort of genre and I wanted to really make an album where when I tell you I did something different, well, that’s something different right there.

Smitty: Yeah, well, you did, brother, and it’s a nice project. And I just wanna say, well, you mentioned Rendezvous.

ML: Right.

Smitty: I love what those cats are doing over there.

ML: Oh yeah.

Smitty: Hyman (Katz) and Frank (Cody) and Dave (Koz), everybody over there.

ML: Oh, it couldn’t be a better situation. I mean, you’ve got a boutique label, but you have a big machine behind them, they are now distributed by Universal, but they’re very creative, Koz is in it and Koz is this…

Smitty: He’s creative.

ML: He’s a brilliant guy who understands all sides of the business, and you’ve got Hyman and Frank. Frank, I mean, when you say radio, you can’t say radio without saying Frank Cody.

Smitty: That’s true.

ML: And then you’ve got Hyman Katz, who is one of the brightest businessmen out there. Well, he’s a musician too. So he understands that part too. And it’s a wonderful situation and they have created from the ground up a great family, they’re signing some wonderful artists, they just signed Tom Scott. Patti Austin is over there, Wayman Tisdale, Jonathan Butler, Marc Antoine. I mean, that’s a great family. And we’re all friends, we go out to events together. I’ll tell you what they did for all of us this year, which just blows my mind, is every year the Grammy has a show. Basically it’s a program called Musicares. Are you familiar with that?

Smitty: Yep.

ML: Okay, it’s founded by the Grammy Foundation and every year they have a Musicares person of the year. And they do a big fundraising dinner and show right before the Grammys every year. This year was James Taylor and they got us a table and these are very expensive tickets. I mean, you’re talking about a thousand dollars a person, okay?

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: And they got a whole table for the whole label and we all went there together and sat there and had the best time of our lives. It was just a magic evening to hear Alison Krauss sing James Taylor or Dixie Chicks or Paul Simon, and then James Taylor goes up there and it’s just oh my God.

Smitty: That’s amazing stuff, isn’t it?

ML: I mean, it was musical heaven right there.

Smitty: (Laughs.) That’s too cool, man, and those are some of my favorite artists too.

ML: Oh yeah.

Smitty: I have been a James Taylor fan forever.

ML: Oh yeah. I mean, that was the thing. “You’ve Got A Friend” has gotta be one of the more favorite of mine on the record, if I can even say that.

Smitty: Oh. Yeah, yeah.

ML: It’s just, I mean, come on. It’s just all melody. I know actually that was written by Carole King, but James Taylor, in my opinion, made it so famous.

Smitty: Yeah, absolutely. Just going back to the label, those guys are great. What amazes me is what they’ve accomplished in such a short period of time.

ML: Oh yeah, oh yeah, absolutely.

Smitty: And I think that speaks volumes for itself because a lot of labels that start out where Rendezvous started out, they usually don’t get this far this quick and with such substance, I think, is the other thing too, and that’s a tribute to everybody involved, including you cats as the artists on the label as well, so it’s just a whole collective great effort, I think.

ML: Yeah.

Smitty: Oh, give me your Web site so everybody can go to your Web site.

ML: www.michaellington.com. Very exciting stuff going on right now. They are redesigning my whole Web site. My new management, you know, I’ve been signed by Stiletto (Entertainment). An amazing, amazing management. Barry Manilow is one of their clients and they just do things very big and very efficient, and they’re sorta taking control over my career and I just cannot believe the things that they’re doing now with the Rogers & Cowan publicity and redesigning my Web site and doing a whole purchase thing where you can buy anything, all these products, and they’re great. They’re beautiful and they have such a great team over there. They’re amazing. What can I say? They’re amazing. Really, to be honest with you, I couldn’t really be happier with my infrastructure right now. I mean, I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve to get this, but…

Smitty: (Laughs.)

ML: Except, I guess, work hard and (laughs) …continue doing it and sticking with it, but my management, my record label, my booking agent (APA), it’s the top of the line and it’s very, very exciting to be a part of such an amazing infrastructure, it really is.

Smitty: Yeah, you’ve come a long way, Michael, from the saxophone and the suitcase.

ML: Well, yeah.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

ML: I have to admit that I am very excited about what’s going on.

Smitty: Yeah, and I wanted to say that I love everyone over there at Stiletto too.

ML: Oh yeah.

Smitty: I’ve worked with them in different capacities.

ML: Right.

Smitty: And Rogers & Cowan? Great group.

ML: Yep.

Smitty: I love Lori and everybody over there.

ML: Oh yeah. But I know I’m in good hands, I definitely know that. I keep on telling myself that every day. But, yeah, anyway, so talking about the Web site, we’re gonna have a brand new Web site and it’s gonna look terrific. Another thing, I guess I can kinda make an announcement on that, but…

Smitty: Yeah, an exclusive. Bring it on, baby!

ML: And it would be an exclusive. I am going to be….this is not a surprise….but I’m going to be a part of the Dave Koz Cruise.

Smitty: Oh yeah, okay.

ML: Okay, well, without getting into what I’m gonna do is…I’m doing a special event on Dave Koz’s Cruise, but basically what I am in the process of doing right now is launching my own cigar line.

Smitty: Really!

ML: And it is very, very exciting and I’ll tell you why it is so exciting for me because I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and there’s a lotta things that has to make sense before you do that. For one thing is I know it’s a novelty and I know that people are gonna buy it because it’s mine, but they may not be smoking, and that’s cool, but the real challenge for me was….before I launched it I wanted to find the best cigar in the world, if that’s possible. In other words, I love like the Davidovs of cigars, I mean, they’re mellow, they’re nice, they’re nutty, they smoke great. I wanted to find something of that caliber but preferably better, okay? And that’s not easy to do. You’re talking about somebody who’s been in the cigar business for a long time, so I have, together with a partner on the East Coast, have sampled a lot of different blends basically from most major cigar manufacturers. They have made custom blends for me and I’ve sampled those and we’re picking the blend that I like the most and this cigar is unbelievable. I could honestly tell you that this is the best cigar in the world.

Smitty: This is an exclusive!

ML: Because I wanted a cigar that I can smoke. I wanted something that I love. And I’m really, really excited about this thing and basically we’re gonna launch that on the Koz Cruise and then we’re gonna continue marketing it after, but it is great. It is just terrific.

Smitty: Wow!

ML: I’ll be so excited…anybody disputing me that it’s not the greatest cigar in the world, I’ll be happy to do a test. (Both laughing.)

Smitty: Take ‘em on, huh?

ML: Oh, this one is…this is a winner, this is a winner.

Smitty: So you’re gonna have it all packaged real cool?

ML: Yeah, they’re doing it all right now. They’re really doing some unique labels, they’re actually custom making the cedar boxes for me, and the imprint. I mean, we’re doing it the right way. We’re doing five different sizes. It’s gonna be Old Dominican with a Connecticut shave wrapper. It’s unbelievable.

Smitty: Oh. You know, you’re probably gonna educate people on cigars first before anything else is what’s gonna happen.

ML: Yeah but the beauty is you could just light it up and not talk about it too.

Smitty: Yeah. (Laughs.)

ML: As long as you enjoy yourself.

Smitty: Wow. Well, speaking of things that I didn’t know, I hear you’re a James Bond fan.

ML: Oh yeah.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

ML: I’ve been since I was a little kid.

Smitty: Really?

ML: Oh, so you didn’t know about it? I just told you this now?

Smitty: Yeah. Boy, you’re just springing all kind of stuff on me.

ML: Yeah, I am. It’s such a fantasy world and you got a guy that can do it all. I mean, what’s not to like? It’s a fantasy world, which is what when you listen to a record, you wanna sorta be taken away for an hour when the record plays, right? And the same thing with a movie. You don’t wanna deal with reality. I don’t wanna go in there and hear people and their problems. I wanna go in there and be a part of a fantasy world for two hours and be removed from the world for a certain amount of time, and the James Bond movies were always like that. You know, exotic locations, beautiful women, beautiful cars and…

Smitty: And gadgets.

ML: Yeah. I mean, you know, what’s not to like about saving the world and being the hero?

Smitty: Yep. (Laughs.)

ML: Of course that concept works.

Smitty: Yes it does. And, Michael, I wanna mention as well that in spite of all the things that you’ve done and accomplished musically and some of those fantasies and those kinds of things, one of the things that I admire about you is what you’ve given back to the community.

ML: Oh, thank you….

Smitty: ….in terms of Mr. Holland’s Opus (www.mhopus.org) …

ML: Right.

Smitty: Music education, what you did as regard to the mudslide victims a year ago…

ML: Oh yeah.

Smitty: .…and the Tsunami Relief.

ML: Sure.

Smitty: I mean, you’ve done a lot of that sort of thing.

ML: Well, there’s a couple other things I’ve been involved in also. There’s an organization here in Los Angeles called Create Now! (www.createnow.org). I’m a part of that, mentoring troubled teens, really who have decided to make a change in their life and I mentor them and talk to them about music and talk to them about why it is so important to stay on track and to basically say “You look at me.” I said “I came over here with nothing. You don’t have to get involved in crimes to be successful. You don’t have to go down that road. You can do the right thing even though it’s hard, and there are rewards at the end,” and that’s what I’m trying to talk to them about, and then play some music with them. Here’s the reality, Smitty, I get just as much joy out of doing it as they do or whatever causes I’m involved in. Let me tell you something: I was with a kid, his name is Frank, okay?

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: Sixteen years old. Five kids, single mother, his two older brothers are in jail, he was in juvenile, and they have two younger daughters, okay? He got out of juvenile. Now he’s taking care of the two younger daughters while the mom is out working, and everything against him, but he decided that that whole lifestyle that his brothers are carrying on with was not for him. So he came to this organization and for some reason he loves the saxophone. That’s his dream, that’s his escape. That’s like that’s why he shouldn’t get in trouble, because he wants to be a saxophone player.

Smitty: Oh nice.

ML: And I met with the kid, we spent some great time together, and I’m trying to find out about him and trying to find out his reasons for living per se and what are your plans, what do you wanna do and all this stuff, and I asked him a question. I said “Hey, let me ask you something. With all the stuff we see on TV, with rap radio, everybody has all the bling, they got all the cars, they got all the stuff,” and he says “One wish.” I said “Well, if I can grant you one wish, anything in the world, what would that be?” You know, I’m thinking he’s gonna say a Mercedes Benz, right?

Smitty: Yeah.

ML: He says he would like to play “Two of a Kind” with me….

Smitty: Oh that’s too cool.

ML: .…which was the single at the time on the radio. And, I mean, it totally floored me…and he didn’t even hesitate. And I said “You know what?” I said “Let’s get the horns out. We can make that happen.” Here we are together playing “Two of a Kind,” I taught him the song, and we were playing it together. I mean, can you imagine what I get from that?

Smitty: Oh yeah.

ML: You’re able to make a difference in somebody’s life and give him hope, give him something to….I don’t wanna say live for because that sounds so dramatic….but just give him something to carry on, you know?

Smitty: Yeah, absolutely.

ML: Give him some inspiration. The reality is I had a grandfather like that (Otto Lington). I had a grandfather that I adored and he was a musician, and I could not have enjoyed talking to him more about his life and music and the whole atmosphere, and he was essentially why I wanted to be a musician. Why I wanted to pursue this thing. He told me “Don’t do it. It’s not easy.” But I knew there was just no way that I wasn’t gonna be able to do it, so I had somebody like that in my life. So when I’m able to give back like that, it’s just good stuff.

Smitty: Yes, it is. And you know what? I think you hit it spot on when you said that you get so much from that. It works both ways.

ML: Oh, it sure does, yeah.

Smitty: And I think that’s a wonderful thing. I would encourage you to keep doing those types of things to the best of your ability….

ML: Right.

Smitty: .…in the time that you have because can you imagine if everyone took a couple of hours a day to do something like that?

ML: We can make a difference, you know? It just sounds like one person out of a billion, but if everybody does a little part, there are differences to be made, definitely.

Smitty: Well, that’s an excellent example, man, and I applaud you for it. Yeah, that’s beautiful.

ML: Well, thank you.

Smitty: So, Michael, I’m looking forward to seeing you on the tour and I’m coming out to L.A. on November 1st, brother.

ML: Yeah, man. We’re working out all the details right now but we’ll definitely keep you posted on that. It’ll be great to see you.

Smitty: Oh yeah, look forward to it. All right, so the record comes out on the 26th and everybody’s anticipating the drop date and I anticipate some great things with this record, man, in a lot of different ways because you’ve done a lot of different things with it.

ML: Right.

Smitty: I highly recommend for anyone that loves music period, actually.

ML: Okay, sounds great.

Smitty: All right. We’ve been talking with Rendezvous Recording artist, the incomparable sax man Michael Lington. His great new record hit the stores September 26. It’s truly something different and cool. Michael, congratulations on the fantastic new record and all the wonderful things you’re doing, my friend, and look forward to seeing you soon. Best of everything in 2006 and beyond, my friend.

ML: Thank you so much, Smitty. Pleasure talking to you.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.michaellington.com or www.rendezvousentertainment.com