Pickup group

A pickup group is a group of professional musicians, which may be session musicians who are hired to play for a limited time period—ranging from a single concert or sound recording session to several weeks of shows—before disbanding. Pickup groups are formed to play in pit orchestras for musical theatre performances, operas, or operettas, accompany jazz singers or instrumental soloists, and act as a temporary backup band for a pop singer for a tour. As well, pickup groups are hired to perform at social events such as weddings or holiday parties. The size of these ensembles ranges from a three- or four-member rock ensemble or jazz group (e.g., a rhythm section, organ trio or backing band) or classical chamber ensemble (e.g., a string quartet) to a 20-piece jazz big band, a 20-27 member pit orchestra for a Broadway musical or a 30-100 member orchestra.

A pickup group may also be called a "pickup band", "pick-up group", "pickup orchestra", or "jobbing band".

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. 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. Nevertheless, since the NYC session players were experienced musicians, they played with a professional style.

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