Home » Jazz Musicians » David Sanborn

David Sanborn

David Sanborn has released 24 albums, won six Grammy Awards, and has had eight Gold albums and one Platinum. Having inspired countless other musicians, Dave has worked in many genres which typically blend instrumental pop, R&B and traditional jazz. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school when he was inspired by the great Chicago blues artists near his hometown of St. Louis.

Having contracted polio at the age of three, Dave was introduced to the saxophone as part of his treatment therapy. By the age of 14, he was able to play with legends such as Albert King and Little Milton. Dave went on to study music at Northwestern University before transferring to the University of Iowa where he played and studied with the great saxophonist JR Monterose.

Later traveling to California on the advice of a friend, he joined the Butterfield Blues Band and played Woodstock with Paul Butterfield. Following that, Dave toured with Stevie Wonder and recorded for Wonder’s Talking Book album, played with The Rolling Stones, and toured with David Bowie. It was with Bowie that he recorded the famous solo heard on “Young Americans”. At the same time, Dave was touring and recording with the great Gil Evans, dividing his time between the two. After moving to New York City and studying with George Coleman, Dave started his solo career where he later collaborated with such artists as Paul Simon and James Taylor.

Dave’s solo release of Taking Off in 1975—still considered a classic—further solidified his career. His 1979 release of Hideaway became a popular hit and further propelled Dave’s ascent with the single, “Seduction” being featured in the movie, American Gigolo. Veteran bassist and composer Marcus Miller joined Dave on the 1981 album, Voyeur. The single, “All I Need Is You” won Dave his first Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. In 1983, Dave released the hit album Backstreet that included Luther Vandross as a featured guest vocalist. Later albums have included guest artists such as Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, Charlie Hayden, Wallace Roney, Kenny Barron, Christian McBride, and Eric Clapton.

Moving onto television, Dave hosted the show, Night Music from 1988 to 1990. Produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, the show featured films of jazz legends like Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck and Billie Holiday, as well as banter and memorable music jams by a remarkable list of musicians including Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Joe Sample, Pharoah Sanders, and many others. Additionally, Dave has regularly hosted the "After New Year's Eve" TV special on ABC. During the 1980s and 1990s, Dave hosted a syndicated radio program, The Jazz Show with David Sanborn. Dave has also recorded many shows' theme songs as well as several other songs for The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder. In 2017, Dave teamed up with his nephew and brother-in-law to create a new show called "Sanborn Sessions".

Read more

Tags

20
Album Review

Luiz Millan: Brazilian Match

Read "Brazilian Match" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


Brazilian Match is a tour-de-force of classic and contemporary Brazilian music written by and featuring singer-songwriter Luiz Millan. Millan's fifth album is a leader is his first for Jazz Station Records and Brazilian jazz impresario Arnaldo DeSouteiro, whose storied history includes working with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Eumir Deodato, Dom Um Romão, João Donato, and other legends, and who called Millan “a composer's composer." “A great melodist who also happens to be a great poet, a fabulous storyteller; a ...

2
Radio & Podcasts

Music From The '80s, With Neil Larsen, Dave Weckl And David Sanborn

Read "Music From The '80s, With Neil Larsen, Dave Weckl And David Sanborn" reviewed by Len Davis


We begin with music from the '80s including Neil Larsen, Full Moon, Brandon Fields, Dave Weckl, David Sanborn and Miles Davis. Japanese band Casiopea and recent releases from Evgeny Pobozhiy, Swedish drummer Jonathan Lundberg, and piano and keyboard player from Russia Eldar Djangirov.Playlist Neil Larsen “Carnival" from Through Any Window (MCA) 00:00 Full Moon “Little Cowboys" from Full Moon (Warner) 05:58 Brandon Fields “The Face On Mars" from Other Places (Nova) 12:00 Dave Weckl “Festival De Ritmo" from ...

3
Liner Notes

Steve Khan: Arrows

Read "Steve Khan: Arrows" reviewed by AAJ Staff


By Steve Khan With The Blue Man not selling as well as Tightrope, Dr. George Butler requested that I have a co-producer for the next CD. I was lucky to be able to land the engineering / production talents of my old and dear friend, Elliot Scheiner. Elliot and I had recorded together on countless sessions, but perhaps most people link us together because it was Elliot who recommended me to Donald Fagen and Walter Becker for AJA, which, of ...

10
Interview

David Sanborn: Night Music and Beyond with Hal Willner

Read "David Sanborn: Night Music and Beyond with Hal Willner" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


Could you imagine tuning in to national network TV today and finding a 60-minute weekly music show focusing on forward-looking musicians driven by a desire to push the envelope rather than to “entertain?" A music show sponsored by a beer company, on top of that? It's hard to believe today. But for two seasons at the end of the 1980s, Michelob Presents Night Music was that and much more. It was a playground where established names like Sonny Rollins and ...

26
SoCal Jazz

David Sanborn: The Curtain Rises on Sanborn Sessions

Read "David Sanborn: The Curtain Rises on Sanborn Sessions" reviewed by Jim Worsley


Listed alphabetically, as opposed to first, second, and third place, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, and David Sanborn are as good as it gets when discussing the best and most influential alto saxophone players of all-time. Now before you say what about Phil Woods or Kenny Garrett or any number of others, let me qualify that this is my list, my opinion. Not some carved in stone official list that has been sealed and notarized by some sort of imaginary Grand ...

6
SoCal Jazz

David Sanborn: Stick Out Your Tongue

Read "David Sanborn: Stick Out Your Tongue" reviewed by Jim Worsley


It was a Sunday afternoon to remember for all of us. It was a most special day for a myriad of reasons. Multi Grammy award winning saxophonist David Sanborn was at the heart of it all. A big part of the story involves a little boy. An eleven year old named Isaac who plays the saxophone and idolizes Sanborn. He, not surprisingly, was elated to learn that he, along with his mom and my wife and I, was ...

6
Book Review

Shakin' All Over: Popular Music and Disbaility

Read "Shakin' All Over: Popular Music and Disbaility" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Shakin' All Over: Popular Music and Disability George McKay 230 pages ISBN: #978-0-472-05209-7 University of Michigan Press 2013 Given the vast quantities written about popular music culture it is perhaps surprising that so little critical space has been given to disability and popular music. Despite this anomaly, author George McKay, Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Salford, argues that there exist identifiable and powerful links between popular music and the “damaged" ...

Read more articles

Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A David Sanborn retrospective

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A David Sanborn retrospective

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

With no upcoming live shows to preview during the ongoing big shutdown, the last two installments of this weekly feature have spotlighted two of St. Louis' most famous jazz musicians, trumpeters Clark Terry and Miles Davis. This week, we're going for a trifecta of sorts, with a collection of clips looking back at various phases in the storied career of another local favorite, alto saxophonist David Sanborn. Each video is a full show featuring Sanborn with a different lineup of ...

1

TV / Film

Sanborn Sessions Episode 1: Kandace Springs

Sanborn Sessions Episode 1: Kandace Springs

Source: Sanborn Sessions

Season Premier Kandace Springs joins David Sanborn and his house band at Dave’s home studio in New York for the first session of Sanborn Sessions. Springs performs “People Make The World Go Round” and “Solitude” alongside Sanborn with support from Ben Williams on bass, Alice Soyer on vocals, Nate Smith on drums, Jon Herington on guitar, and Andy Ezrin on keyboards. The songs from the episode will be individually released as shorter video content for more bite-sized consumption, including two ...

5

TV / Film

David Sanborn Releases Trailer For His New Show 'Sanborn Sessions'

David Sanborn Releases Trailer For His New Show 'Sanborn Sessions'

Source: Sanborn Sessions

DAVE SANBORN, LEGENDARY SAXOPHONIST, PRESENTS THE FIRST SEASON OF HIS NEW SHOW “SANBORN SESSIONS” Digital Series Features Performances & Conversation With Kandace Springs, Michael McDonald, Terrace Martin, Bob James and Others. Dave Sanborn, veteran saxophonist and six time Grammy Award winner announced today that he will soon present the first episode of his new music show, Sanborn Sessions. The new series is hosted by Sanborn and features a diverse roster of accomplished artists from a variety of genres and generations. ...

Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Celebrating David Sanborn

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Celebrating David Sanborn

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, our video spotlight shines on alto saxophonist and former St. Louisan David Sanborn, who celebrated his 74th birthday this past Tuesday, July 30 and will be coming back home to perform on Tuesday, August 13 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The date is part of the “Double Vision Revisited" tour, for which Sanborn is being joined by keyboardist Bob James and bassist Marcus Miller, his two collaborators on the 1986 album of the same name, for a series ...

5

Performance / Tour

Double Vision Revisited Comes To Cleveland August 17th Featuring Bob James, David Sanborn, And Marcus Miller

Double Vision Revisited Comes To Cleveland  August 17th Featuring Bob James, David Sanborn, And Marcus Miller

Source: C. Andrew Hovan

On August 17th, Live Nation presents Double Vision Revisited at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium (14100 Franklin Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio). The 8 p.m. performance will feature Bob James, David Sanborn, and Marcus Miller. A jazz legend, Bob James has a career that has defined the genre and continues to evolve at every turn. David Sanborn is universally known as one of the most iconic saxophonists of the current age. Marcus Miller’s characteristic bass sound can be heard on a limitless catalog ...

Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: David Sanborn, Nicole Johänntgen, Tyshawn Sorey, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman, and more

Jazz this week: David Sanborn, Nicole Johänntgen, Tyshawn Sorey, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

There's lots of jazz and creative music happening in St. Louis over the next week, including the return of a hometown hero, the local debut of a much-talked-about drummer and composer, and the first chance for audiences here to check out a critically acclaimed collaboration between two well-known jazz headliners. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, April 13 Saxophonist David Sanborn—who, as longtime StLJN readers no doubt know, grew up right here in Kirkwood—returns to St. Louis to begin a ...

Performance / Tour

Review: David Sanborn at Jazz at the Bistro

Review: David Sanborn at Jazz at the Bistro

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Opening his second set last Thursday with “Coming Home Baby" seemed a very appropriate choice for David Sanborn. Not only is the tune one of his longtime concert staples, but the Kirkwood High School graduate was in fact back in his hometown, headlining the first full week of shows at the newly expanded and renovated space of Jazz at the Bistro. Accompanied by a quartet of St. Louis musicians, Sanborn seemed relaxed and relatively low-key as he ventured forth on ...

1

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: David Sanborn, Rebirth Brass Band, Chick Corea, Ku-Umba Frank Lacy, Stanley Clarke Band, and More

Jazz This Week: David Sanborn, Rebirth Brass Band, Chick Corea, Ku-Umba Frank Lacy, Stanley Clarke Band, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

It's the busiest week for jazz and creative music so far this fall in St. Louis, with a half- dozen touring headliners passing through town in the next seven days. Let's go to the highlights.... Tonight, alto saxophonist and Kirkwood's own David Sanborn returns home to begin a four- night run continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Sanborn will be accompanied on this visit by an all-St. Louis rhythm section, with Eric Slaughter on guitar, U City's Peter ...

2

Festival

David Sanborn And Van Morrison Headline Limerick Jazz Festival September 25-28

David Sanborn And Van Morrison Headline Limerick Jazz Festival September 25-28

Source: All About Jazz

The Limerick Jazz Festival returns for another eagerly anticipated edition between September 25th and 28th. For its third edition the LJF has upped the stakes by bringing in some big names, not the least of which are Belfast’s legendary Van Morrison, American saxophonist David Sanborn and English saxophonist Julian Siegel. The festival opens at 8pm on Thursday 25th with the sold out concert of Van the Man at the University College Hall. There’s nothing to say that hasn’t already been ...

Festival

Jazz This Week: Mwata Bowden, a David Sanborn Tribute, "Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60," Alarm Will Sound, and More

Jazz This Week: Mwata Bowden, a David Sanborn Tribute, "Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60," Alarm Will Sound, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Events have conspired to make this week's preview of jazz and creative music shows in and around St. Louis both rather terse and somewhat behind schedule. so let's go straight to the highlights.... Tonight, multi-instrumentalist Mwata Bowden of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, performs a free concert with bassist Paul Steinbeck and drummer Gary Sykes for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. For more about Bowden and some video samples of him performing, see this ...

Ken Stout
saxophone
Noah Peterson
saxophone
Grace Kelly
saxophone
2azz1 Durst
saxophone
Ava Lemert
saxophone
Ricky Hopkins
saxophone
Tony Exum, Jr
saxophone
Alexander Raichenok
saxophone, alto
Jeremy Shoham
saxophone
Warren Keller
saxophone
Ally Fiola
saxophone
Don Pope
woodwinds
Matthew Alec
saxophone, tenor
Alessandro Bertozzi
saxophone, alto
Funk Elastic
band / ensemble / orchestra

Photos

Concerts

May 15 Wed
May 20 Mon

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Brazilian Match

Jazz Station Records
2023

buy

"Muggy Sunday...

Self Produced
2019

buy

Enjoy The View

Blue Note
2014

buy

Maggie Moor's...

Self Produced
2013

buy

The Complete Arista...

Legacy Recordings
2012

buy

Only Everything

Decca Music Group
2010

buy

Andar Descalço (Barefoot) feat. Randy Brecker

From: Brazilian Match
By David Sanborn

In the Grove of the Jacarandas

From: Brazilian Match
By David Sanborn

Red Devil Trickery

From: Maggie Moor's Greatest Hits
By David Sanborn

Similar

Michael Brecker
saxophone, tenor
Candy Dulfer
saxophone, alto
Earl Klugh
guitar, acoustic
Spyro Gyra
band / ensemble / orchestra
Fourplay
band / ensemble / orchestra
Kenny G
saxophone, soprano
Dave Koz
saxophone
Najee
saxophone

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.