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David Sanborn

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David Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist, most commonly associated with radio-friendly smooth jazz and pop-jazz fusion.

Career

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. 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. 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.

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, Roger Daltrey, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Jaco Pastorius, the Brecker Brothers, David Bowie, Little Feat, Bob James, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Joe Beck, Donny Hathaway, Elton John, Gil Evans, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Roger Waters, Steely Dan, Ween, The Eagles, the German group Nena, and Japanese pop star Utada Hikaru.

Sanborn has won numerous awards including Grammy awards for Voyeur (1982), Double Vision (1987) and the instrumental single Close Up (1988). 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. 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.

In 1994 Sanborn appeared in A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who, also known as Daltrey Sings Townshend. This was a two-night concert at Carnegie Hall produced by Roger Daltrey of English rock band The Who in celebration of his fiftieth birthday. In 1994 a CD and a VHS video were issued, and in 1998 a DVD was released.

In 1995 he performed in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True a musical performance of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and issued on CD and video in 1996.

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, Dizzy Gillespie, Lou Reed, Santana, Youssou N'dour, Pere Ubu, Loudon Wainwright III, Mary Margaret O'Hara, and Curtis Mayfield. During the 1980s and 1990s, Sanborn hosted a syndicated radio program, The Jazz Show with David Sanborn.

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. He plays a sax part on the song "Your Party" and "Fiesta" off of Ween's latest album, La Cucaracha. On April 8th 2007, Sanborn sat in with the Allman Brothers Band during their annual run at the Beacon Theater in NYC.

Discography

  • Takin' Off 1975
  • David Sanborn 1976
  • Promise Me to the Moon 1977
  • Heart to Heart 1978
  • Hideaway 1979
  • Voyeur 1980
  • As We Speak 1981
  • Backstreet 1982
  • Straight to the Heart 1984
  • Double Vision w, Bob James 1986
  • A Change of Heart 1987
  • Close Up 1988
  • Another Hand 1991
  • Upfront 1992
  • Heresay 1994
  • The Best of David Sanborn 1994
  • Pearls 1995
  • Love Songs 1995
  • Songs From the Night Before 1996
  • Inside 1999
  • The Essentials 2002
  • Time Again 2003
  • Closer 2005

References

External links



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