David Sanborn
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David Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist, most commonly associated with commercial, radio-friendly smooth jazz and pop-fusion.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Early years
Sanborn was born in Tampa, Florida and grew up in Kirkwood, Missouri. He suffered from polio in his youth, and began playing the saxophone on a physician's advice to strengthen his weakened chest muscles and improve his breathing. Alto saxophonist Hank Crawford, at the time a member of Ray Charles' band, was an early and lasting influence on Sanborn.[1] Sanborn performed with blues musicians Albert King and Little Milton at the age of 14, and continued playing blues when he joined Paul Butterfield's band in 1967.[1] One of Sanborn's early guest appearances was on David Bowie's Young Americans.
Although Sanborn is most associated with smooth jazz, he explored the edges of free jazz in his youth, studying with Roscoe Mitchell and Julius Hemphill. In 1993, he revisited this genre when he appeared on Tim Berne's Diminutive Mysteries, dedicated to Hemphill.
[edit] Recordings
He has been a highly regarded session player since the late 1960s, playing with an array of well-known artists, such as Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Jaco Pastorius, the Brecker Brothers, Bob James, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Joe Beck, Donny Hathaway, Elton John, Gil Evans, Carly Simon, Billy Joel, Roger Waters, Steely Dan and Japanese pop star Utada Hikaru.
Sanborn has won numerous awards including Grammy awards for Voyeur (1980) and Straight to the Heart. In television, Sanborn is well-known for his sax solo in the theme song for the NBC hit drama L.A. Law. He has also done some film scoring for films such as Lethal Weapon and Scrooged. In 1991 Sanborn recorded Another Hand, which the All Music Guide to Jazz described as a "return by Sanborn to his real, true love: unadorned (or only partly adorned) jazz" that "balanced the scales" against his smooth jazz material.[2] The album, produced by Hal Willner, featured musicians from outside the smooth jazz scene, such as Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, and Marc Ribot. His more recent albums include Closer.
[edit] Broadcasting activities
Sanborn has done both radio and television broadcasting. In the late 1980s he was a regular guest member of Paul Shaffer's band on Late Night with David Letterman. From 1988-89, he co-hosted a late-night TV music show on NBC with Jools Holland. The show, Night Music, following producer Hal Willner's eclectic approach, drew Sanborn together with many famed musicians, such as Miles Davis, Lou Reed, Santana, Youssou N'dour, and Curtis Mayfield. During the 1980s and 1990s, Sanborn hosted a syndicated radio program, The Jazz Show with David Sanborn.[1]
[edit] Recent activities
In 2004, Sanborn was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. In 2006, he was featured in Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band's most recent album The Phat Pack (released on June 13) on the track "Play That Funky Music", a remake of the Wild Cherry hit in a big band style. Sanborn is also known to go to Japan's Blue Note live stages in Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Balfany, Greg (January/February 1989), "David Sanborn", Saxophone Journal 13 (4): pp. 28-31
- ^ Wynn, Ron (1994), All Music Guide to Jazz, San Francisco: Miller Freeman, ISBN 0879303085
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Official Community of David Sanborn: http://www.davidsanborn.com
- Italian Community - Fan Club (ITALY): http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/david-sanborn/
