David Sanborn, Saxophonist Who Spanned Multiple Genres, Dies at 78
Info fromBestClassicBands.com:
David Sanborn, the alto saxophonist who crossed over from jazz to pop, R&B and other genres, has died. A statement on his social media pages read, “It is with sad and heavy hearts that we convey to you the loss of internationally renowned, 6-time Grammy Award-winning, saxophonist, David Sanborn. Mr. Sanborn passed Sunday afternoon, May 12th, after an extended battle with prostate cancer with complications.” Sanborn, who amassed several gold and platinum albums over a career that began during the 1960s, was 78.
Sanborn had reportedly been diagnosed with cancer in 2018 but continued to perform until recently. He was booked to play a residency at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club this August.
An obituary published on CNN’s website stated that Sanborn’s publicist confirmed his death.
David William Sanborn was born July 30, 1945, in Tampa, Fla., and grew up in Missouri. He began playing saxophone during his youth and was working with blues musicians Albert King and Little Milton by age 14. Sanborn joined the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1967 when that outfit added a horn section, and performed with them at the Woodstock festival in 1969.
He found work as a session musician and beginning in the ’70s, contributed to recordings by Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, David Bowie , James Brown, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Toto, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, and many others in the early ’70s, then joined the popular Brecker Brothers band in the mid-’70s. Sanborn also collaborated with Eric Clapton on film soundtracks such as Lethal Weapon [and its sequels] and Scrooged. In 1994, Sanborn performed on a two-night celebration of the music of Pete Townshend at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Sanborn launched his solo career with the album Taking Off on the Warner Bros. label in 1975 , but it wasn’t until the ’80s that he found commercial success with his hybrid approach. His albums Hideaway, Voyeur, Backstreet, Straight to the Heart [which won a Jazz Fusion Grammy], Double Vision [a duets set with Bob James, which took home a Grammy], A Change of Heart, Close-Up [Grammy for Pop Instrumental Album] and Upfront were all certified gold or platinum. Although Sanborn’s music was usually slotted into the smooth jazz category, he occasionally ventured into more “out” subgenres of jazz.
Beginning in 1980, Sanborn was a member of the Saturday Night Live band, then moved over to Late Night With David Letterman. From 1988 to 1989, he co-hosted the late-night music program Night Music, performing with a wide variety of artists ranging from Santana to Miles Davis to Todd Rundgren and Leonard Cohen. He also hosted a syndicated radio program, The Jazz Show with David Sanborn.
