MICHAEL LINGTON, Goodbye

Michael Lington may not have written “Goodbye,” the richly soulful, deeply passionate third single from his On the Scene EP, but it’s one of the most personal recordings of the Billboard #1 charting saxophonist’s nearly three-decade career as a recording artist and premiere force in contemporary jazz. Co-produced by Lington with featured keyboardist David Mann, the track is a sensual and soaring re-imagining of a lesser known but still essential cut from David Sanborn’s classic Marcus Miller-produced 1988 album Close Up.

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iting the late saxophone legend’s later 80’s vibe as a key influence in his decision to move from Copenhagen to the U.S. to pursue a career as a sax player and artist, Lington shares a powerhouse performance that’s reverential to Sanborn’s original but makes his own emphatic statement. He affectionately calls it “a ballad that gets cookin’, my fond farewell to him and the close of an important chapter in my life.”

Since Sanborn’s passing in May 2024, Lington has made  “Goodbye” a staple of his live performances, making the unsung masterpiece a true crowd pleaser and the emotional peak of any show. One of those memorable performances was with Miller at one of the shows in the first season of Lington’s Sax to Soul exclusive concert series at Spaghettini’s in Seal Beach.