Sanborn performed with blues musicians
Albert King and
Little Milton at the age of 14. Although Sanborn was most associated with
smooth jazz, he studied
free jazz in his youth with saxophonists
Roscoe Mitchell and
Julius Hemphill. In 1993, he revisited this genre when he appeared on
Tim Berne's
Diminutive Mysteries, which was dedicated to Hemphill, who was Berne's mentor. Sanborn's album
Another Hand featured avant-garde musicians. He found life on the road increasingly difficult but continued to tour. In 2017, despite plans to reduce his workload to no more than 150 gigs a year, he embarked on a tour which included
Istanbul and
Nairobi, Kenya.
Recordings Sanborn was a highly regarded session player from the late 1960s onward and played with an array of well-known artists, including James Brown,
Phil Woods, Bryan Ferry,
Michael Stanley,
Eric Clapton,
Bobby Charles,
Cat Stevens,
Roger Daltrey, Stevie Wonder,
Paul Simon,
Jaco Pastorius, the
Brecker Brothers,
Michael Franks,
Kenny Loggins,
Casiopea,
Players Association,
David Bowie,
Todd Rundgren, Bruce Springsteen,
Little Feat,
Tommy Bolin,
Bob James,
James Taylor,
Al Jarreau,
Pure Prairie League,
Kenny G,
Loudon Wainwright III, George Benson,
Joe Beck,
Donny Hathaway, Elton John,
Gil Evans, Carly Simon,
Guru,
Linda Ronstadt,
Billy Joel,
Kenny Garrett,
Roger Waters,
Steely Dan,
Ween, the Eagles,
Grateful Dead,
Nena,
Hikaru Utada, The Rolling Stones,
Ian Hunter, and
Toto. Many of Sanborn's solo recordings were collaborations with bassist/multi-instrumentalist/composer and producer
Marcus Miller, whom he met in the
Saturday Night Live band in the late 1970s. Sanborn performed with Clapton on film soundtracks such as
Lethal Weapon (and its sequels) and
Scrooged. In 1991, Sanborn recorded
Another Hand, which the
All Music Guide to Jazz described as a "return by Sanborn to his real, true love: unadorned (or only partly adorned) jazz" that "balanced the scales" against his smooth jazz material. The album, produced by
Hal Willner, featured musicians from outside the smooth jazz scene like
Terry Adams,
Charlie Haden,
Jack DeJohnette,
Bill Frisell, and
Marc Ribot. In 1994, Sanborn appeared in
A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who, also known as
Daltrey Sings Townshend, a two-night concert at
Carnegie Hall produced by Roger Daltrey of English rock band
The Who in celebration of his fiftieth birthday. In 1994 a CD and a VHS video were issued, and in 1998 a DVD was released. In 1995 Sanborn performed in
The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True, a musical performance at
Lincoln Center to benefit the
Children's Defense Fund. The performance was broadcast on
Turner Network Television (TNT) and released on CD and video in 1996. In 2006, he featured in
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band's album
The Phat Pack on the track "
Play That Funky Music", a remake of the
Wild Cherry hit in a
big band style. Sanborn often performed at Japan's
Blue Note venues in
Nagoya,
Osaka, and
Tokyo. Sanborn played on the song "Your Party" on
Ween's 2007 release
La Cucaracha. On April 8, 2007, he sat in with
the Allman Brothers Band during their annual run at the
Beacon Theatre in
Manhattan, New York. In 2010, Sanborn toured with a trio featuring jazz organist
Joey DeFrancesco and
Steve Gadd. They played the combination of blues and jazz from his album
Only Everything. In 2011, Sanborn toured with keyboardist
George Duke and bassist Marcus Miller as the group DMS. In 2013, Sanborn toured with keyboardist
Brian Culbertson on "The Dream Tour" celebrating the 25th anniversary of the song "The Dream". Besides playing alto saxophone as his main instrument, Sanborn also played baritone, soprano and sopranino saxophones; flute; and keyboards/piano on some recordings.
Broadcasting Sanborn performed and hosted radio, television, and web programs. He was a member of the
Saturday Night Live band in 1980. Beginning in the late 1980s he was a regular guest member of
Paul Shaffer's band on
Late Night with David Letterman. He also appeared on the
Late Show with David Letterman a few times in the 1990s. From 1988 to 1989, Sanborn co-hosted
Night Music, a late-night music show on television with
Jools Holland. Using producer Hal Willner's eclectic approach, the show positioned Sanborn with many famed musicians including
Miles Davis,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Pharoah Sanders,
NRBQ, Eric Clapton,
Robert Cray,
Lou Reed,
Elliott Sharp,
Jean-Luc Ponty,
Santana,
Todd Rundgren,
Youssou N'dour,
Pere Ubu, Loudon Wainwright III,
Mary Margaret O'Hara,
Screamin' Jay Hawkins,
Leonard Cohen,
Sonic Youth,
Was (Not Was),
Anson Funderburgh,
Warren Zevon,
John Zorn,
Curtis Mayfield,
Richard Thompson, and
Jo-El Sonnier. During the 1980s and 1990s, Sanborn hosted a syndicated radio program,
The Jazz Show with David Sanborn. with artists such as Marcus Miller,
Christian McBride, Sting,
Michael McDonald, which involved live performances and interviews from his home in
Westchester, New York. ==Equipment==