Loren Pickford Obituary, Death – We are sudden to annouce the passing of Loren Pickford. the passing of Loren Pickford is a source of sadness for me. Loren was the most talented and knowledgeable musician I’ve ever met. He was wonderful on the outside on the inside. Many of us learned how to become professional musicians from him. He came from a well-known artistic family and possessed a lot of talent and drive. He gave off the impression of being wise and calm, as though he had experienced many lives before and remembered them all.
He spent some time residing in the basement of the property that I rent. Sometimes he’d come up here and play the piano in my upper room. Flutist and alto saxophonist of the highest caliber. Bandstand nights became the best they had ever been because of him. I felt like royalty around him. In the mornings, he would spend his time at the Tower Cafe sipping coffee, smoking cigarettes, and drawing in a journal. He was a frequent customer at the breakfast eatery. While everyone else was getting ready for work, he engaged in Zen breakfast practice. The magnificent grass at Fig Garden was the setting for the graduation celebration we performed.
Phil Levine, the current National Poet Laureate, used to be Loren’s good friend and lived there. Everyone was familiar with Loren. Loren asked me to play the drums at a special function. I looked sharp with my slacks, blazer, and shirt combo. On the front of Loren’s white button-down oxford shirt were a few dried-up streaks that looked like spaghetti sauce. I was unable to contain my laughter. To look cool, he required a shirt covered with spaghetti sauce. On another evening as we were performing on the bandstand, Loren said to one of the musicians that I was virtually sleeping while I was working.
“What’s Lynn’s problem with tonight?” No groove, feel, etc. When I heard it from a man whose opinion I valued, I felt both outraged and heartbroken. Almost brought to tears. My tensions were on the verge of exploding as I stewed. When we started playing again, I did so with fury. It was a very terrifying set! In order to arrange that, he talked about me while I was in the vicinity. He was completely aware of how to light a fire under my derriere. The performance came to an end, and that’s when I found out what he had done.
