Currently knocking them dead as an integral part of the Dave Koz And Friends smooth jazz cruise (the latest leg of which sets sail from Barcelona on May 15), Danish born sax-man Michael Lington is having quite a 2023. His new five track EP ‘Looking Ahead’ will be released May 12 and is his first collection of original songs since 2018 and ‘Silver Lining’.
‘Looking Ahead’ is quickly up and running with one of two singles already serviced to radio, the mellifluous yet edgy ‘Moon Goddess’. The song represents a first-time collaboration with fellow saxophonist David Mann who he first met back in 1998 towards the tail end of his years touring with the late Bobby Caldwell. Lington’s second radio ready number is the funked up ‘Play’ that finds him working with fellow sax star Darren Rahn for a number that owes much to Paul Jackson Jr’s blistering guitar licks and the rock solid platform afforded by bass player Mel Brown and drummer Tarell Martin.
The EP also includes two tracks co-written, produced by and featuring two-time GRAMMY winner Paul Brown. The first is the sassy, strutting ‘South Beach’ while the stunningly sensual ‘Til the Morning Light’ shows just how adept Lington is to turning down the tempo to sensational effect.
Talking of turned down magic it doesn’t come much better than the romantically inclined ‘Keri’s Song’. Brimming with the sense of wonder that stirs in your soul when you see the one you love walking down the aisle towards you, this ode to true love was written and recorded with two-time GRAMMY® nominee Chris “Big Dog” Davisespecially for Lington’s bride and was first performed for her at their wedding in August 2021 at Redondo Beach CA.
‘Looking Ahead’ luxuriates in the plethora of the life changes that Lington has recently gone through. A move to San Diego County after 32 years in Los Angeles, his marriage to Keri, being a devoted stepfather to her young daughter Lauren and (at age 50) becoming a first time dad have all combined to spark this fresh burst of creativity.