David Sanborn

David Sanborn is a Grammy Award-winning American saxophonist whose range includes smooth jazz, R&B, funk, pop and rock. He has had a long string of hit recordings and he has worked with some of the biggest stars in music from David Bowie to Linda Ronstadt and Bruce Springsteen as well as many great jazz performers. He contributed music to films such as the 'Lethal Weapon' franchise along with Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton and he continues to perform in concert. His latest release was 'Bye Bye Blackbird: Blowing in from Chicago for Von and Eddie' in 2016 with saxophonist Frank Catalano and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.

Born in Florida, Sanborn grew up in St. Louis and learned to play the saxophone as therapy after he was stricken with polio at a young age. Influenced by sax player Hank Crawford, he performed with blues guitarists Little Milton and Albert King when he was 14. After he moved to California in 1965, he made records and performed at the Woodstock Festival with the Butterfield Blues Band. Session work followed with a galaxy of top acts and he began to make his own recordings. A move to New York in the 1980s led to more recordings and he became established as a major artist in his own right.

His first solo recording was 'Taking Off' in 1975 and he has released many since. He was nominated for his first Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for 'Anything You Want' in 1980 and won in that category the following year for 'All I Need Is You'. He now has 16 nominations with six wins covering contemporary jazz, pop, jazz fusion and R&B. His 1994 release 'Upfront' went to number 17 on Billboard's Jazz Albums Chart followed the same year by 'Hearsay' which went to number two. 'Love Songs' (1995) reached number 13, 'Pearls' (1995) peaked at number two and 'The Best of David Sanborn' that year went to number five. 'Songs from the Night Before' (1996) hit number three, 'Inside' (1999) went to number three, and 'timeagain' (2003) number two. 'Closer' (2005) peaked at number five, 'Here & Gone' (2008) number three, 'Only Everything' (2010) number eleven, 'Quartet Humaine' (2013) with Bob James number five, 'Enjoy the View' (2014) with Bobby Hutcherson and Joey DeFrancesco featuring Billy Hart number six and 'Time and the River' (2014) number four. 'Bye Bye Blackbird' peaked at number two on the chart in 2016.