David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanbornis an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school. Sanborn has also worked extensively as a session musician, notably on David Bowie's Young Americans...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSaxophonist
Date of Birth30 July 1945
CityTampa, FL
CountryUnited States of America
Well, I had been doing albums that were a little more pop/commercial and it was really only reflecting one side of my playing and I felt the need to express another side of myself.
I remember one summer, right after my second album came out, James Taylor was nice enough to allow us to open for him.
I know guys that live in New York, but I never see them play because they're always out on the road. I run into them in Europe.
I'm moved by a lot of different kinds of music, whether it's pop music or R&B or straight-ahead jazz or free or opera or music from all parts of the world.
I'm one of those people that wants to bring a lot of disparate elements together.
I think Norah Jones is a perfect example. Here's somebody who was playing the music she wanted to play and did it with some conviction, and it happened to be at a moment in time when there was a highly receptive audience for that kind of music.
But hey, look, I became a musician because I love music.
I listen to some things that I've done, and I think they're pretty good, but that's not one of them.
I didn't try to think what my audience wanted and then make the music accordingly. I made the music and hoped that as many people liked it as possible.
I hope this doesn't sound like false humility, because I don't mean it to, but I'm just a member of the band.
I love working with these guys. But I certainly don't begrudge them when they want to go off and do their own stuff.
I'm trying to kind of keep my mind a blank for a while, and just see what filters in, and be non-specific about what I listen to.
But I never had any illusions at that time that it was going to be how I was going to make a living. I thought, well, I'll make a solo record, and it'll be fun.
I basically played the music that I felt all my life, and whatever label people put on it is kind of really none of my business.