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Loren Pickford

Grammy nominated saxophonist, flutist, pianist, vocalist, composer, and recording artist, Loren Pickford, has had a multifaceted career as his travels have led him through a virtual tour of American music ranging from modern jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, Brazilian music and New Orleans rhythm and blues.

Loren has performed in jazz festivals, special concerts, hotels and a host of other professional venues world-wide, and has wowed critics with his musical abilities.

He has composed and performed scores for movies (Warner Bros.), documentaries (PBS-Public Broadcasting Service), CBS, radio presentations (NPR-National Public Radio), Broadway, and modern classical impressionistic dance scores for world renowned dance troupes.

He has recorded seven CDs which have garnered him high critical praise.

He has been an active working member of the musical scenes in Kansas City, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Denver, Chicago, Boston, Louisville, Amsterdam, and Paris. These range from his early on the road stints on the Southern “chitlins” circuit, playing saxophone with R&B blues legend Jackie Wilson, The Chi Lites, and Percy Sledge, to membership in the bands of Van Morrison, The Righteous Brothers, and on to later engagements with blues legends T Bone Walker, The Ray Charles Orchestra, Etta James, Albert Collins, Randi Crawford and others.

In the modern jazz scene he has been a sideman in the bands of Chet Baker, Cecil Mcbee, Andrew Hill, Frank Rossolino, Shorty Rogers/Bud Shank, Bill Hardaman, George Cables, Nicholas Payton, Billy Higgins and many others.

During his Los Angeles years, he was bandleader for the CBS TV shows “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” “The Paul Sand Show,” and “Doc.” Loren was also musical director for five seasons of The Improvisational Theatre Project at The Los Angeles Music Center, which was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Loren made a place for himself in the book “Who’s Who in American Theatre” as composer of scores for the Tony Award winning Broadway plays “Paul Sills Story Theatre” and “Metamorphosis,” Sam Shepard’s play “Angel City” (Los Angeles Mark Taper Forum), “American Folk Tales” (JFK Center for the Performing Arts), and a Chicago production of “Arabian Nights.”

He has composed dance scores for Twyla Tharpe and The Portable Dance Troupe, and more recently, scores for NPR’s “A New Orleans Christmas” (traditional New Orleans piano), the PBS documentary “Master of Light,” (classical), as well as work contributing to the scores of the Warner Bros. movies “A Rat’s Tale,” “A Time to Kill,” and “A Perfect World.”

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, alto

Credentials/Background

Director, Jazz Studies Fresno City College Received grant from American Jazz Foundation to work in area schools speaking on and performing music. Faculty of KC Youth Jazz Camp

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