David Sanborn

David Sanborn, born July 30, 1945, is an American saxophonist. He is most well-known for his smooth jazz and pop-jazz blends, as well as a touch of rock ‘n roll/r and B. Born in Tampa, Florida, he grew up in Kirkwood Missouri. Sanborn, who was a victim of polio as a child, is a well-respected session player. He has been playing since the mid 1970s. His first gig was with Paul Butterfield’s band. Sanborn was one of the first to record a guest recording on David Bowie’s Young Americans. His output as a session musician became more prolific around this time. He played with an impressive array of artists over the next ten decades, including Paul Simon, James Taylor (contributing the remake of Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet it Is”), The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder. He was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman’s band, Paul Shaffer, in the 1980s. He hosted a late-night TV show about music on NBC from 1988 to 1989 with Jools Holland. After Hal Willner’s unique approach, the show “Night Music” brought together many famous musicians such as Miles Davis and Santana. Sanborn has strayed from the boundaries of free jazz throughout his career. He studied with Roscoe Mitchell, Julius Hemphill, as well as performing on Tim Berne’s Diminutive Mysteries dedicated to Hemphill. Produced by Hal Willner, his 1991 album Another Hand features Charlie Haden and Jack DeJohnette as well as Marc Ribot and other musicians not typically associated with smooth jazz. On television, Sanborn is best known for his sax solo on the theme song of the NBC drama L.A. Law. Sanborn has also written for film, including the soundtracks to Lethal Weapon (and Scrooged). David Sanborn was inducted into St. Louis’ Walk of Fame in 2004. You can find photographs and additional information on David’s official website, www.DavidSanborn.com. Text contributed by users is possible under the Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.

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