For anyone who has followed the evolution of contemporary jazz from as far back as the seventies will need no introduction to saxophonist David Sanborn who sadly passed away from prostate cancer, May 12, 2024, aged 78.
It was in 1977 with his second album ‘Promise Me The Moon’ that Sanborn made his first of many appearances on the jazz charts. He remained there more or less unchallenged for the next thirty years with a phenomenal run that included albums such as the 1980 smash ‘Hideaway’, ‘Straight To The Heart’ in 1984 and his wonderful 1985 collaboration with Bob James ‘Double Vision’.
His 1988 project ‘Close Up’ which was produced and co-written by Marcus Miller was a club hit too while ‘Upfront’ in 1992 hit the top spot in the contemporary jazz chart.
There is little doubt that through the nineties he proved to be the inspiration for a whole clutch of sax players cutting their musical teeth on smooth jazz and secretly wishing they could play even half as well as he.
David Sanborn was born on July 30, 1945, in Tampa, Florida but raised in Kirkwood Missouri. He contracted polio at the age of three and struggled with the disease for the next eight years. On the advice of his doctor, who thought that playing an instrument would help with his breathing, he began with the clarinet before finding his true voice with the saxophone.
It was in New York City that Sanborn found his artistic home. He became, and remained, a sought-after session player and his collaborations with superstars such as James Brown, Billy Joel, George Benson, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, The Eagles and countless others added layers of depth to his musical experience.
It could be argued that without Sanborn smooth jazz would never have enjoyed its golden age, a time that generally is accepted as being from 1980 to 2010. What is certain is that he leaves an enormous legacy and a genre that is much healthier for having him being part of it.