David Sanborn

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Image:David Sanborn (2006).jpg

David Sanborn in concert in San Francisco.

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

1 Career
- 1.1 Early years
2 Recordings
3 Broadcasting activities
4 Recent activities
5 See also
6 External links

[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. One of his first professional gigs was as a member of Paul Butterfield's band, and one of his early guest recordings 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, and performing 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 Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Jaco Pastorius, the Brecker Brothers, Bob James, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Donny Hathaway, Elton John, Gil Evans, Carly Simon, Billy Joel, Roger Waters and Steely Dan.

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 an album, Another Hand, that deviated from his "smooth jazz"/pop fusion reputation, in that it incorporated free jazz influences. 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.

[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.

[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 classic funk chart in a big band style.