Pickup group
A pickup group is a group of professional
Terminology
A pickup group may also be called a "pickup band", "pick-up group", "pickup orchestra", or "jobbing band".
History
In the 1960s, recordings of New York soul singers were not typically backed up by longstanding "house bands" which worked on a permanent basis for the record label, as was the case in many Southern US types of soul music. Instead, New York soul accompaniment parts were usually recorded by session musicians who were hired by a music contractor to play for a single recording.[1] Since the musicians playing New York soul were not a regular backup band that played together all the time, the playing was not as loose and spontaneous as a typical Southern US "house band", in which the members played together all the time.[2] Nevertheless, since the NYC session players were experienced musicians, they played with a professional style.
Considerations
When a music promoter is organizing a multi-city or multi-country tour for a
The promoter needs to make a decision as to whether to hire an existing, longstanding
Alternatively, in each town or city, the producer or promoter can pay a local music contractor to hire a local musicians to form a "pickup" orchestra or a "jobbing band". If a promoter decides to hire a pickup group in each town or city, this means that the promoter does not have to pay for the travel, hotels and meals for these musicians, since they live in the town or city where the show is taking place. There are some disadvantages; using a pickup group requires contractors to pay for a series of rehearsals for the new musicians in each town, so that they can learn the songs/pieces. As well, since the pickup group will not have experience playing together and since they may not have experience performing the songs/pieces in the show, a pickup group may not play with the same "tight" ensemble as a longstanding group which backs up a soloist or musical theatre/opera company on a permanent basis.
As occupation
Although the work provided by these ensembles is intermittent and of short duration, these ensembles are an important source of income for freelance musicians and session musicians. Since playing in "jobbing bands" and "pickup groups" only provides a limited amount of work per year, a performer that plays in these types of groups will typically have to have other sources of income, such as teaching music on her instrument. As well, playing in these ensembles give local performers an opportunity to work with well-known national- or international-level touring soloists and conductors.
Orchestras
When a
is performed in different cities, the production company may hire local musicians in each town for the performance.Jazz, rock and pop music groups
When a