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
Its all about finding the right note at the right place and knowing when to leave well enough alone. And that's a lifelong quest.
As a melody instrument player, it's all about getting from one note to the next, and those intervals and how you navigate your way through these vertical structures of chords. You realize that everything's moving forward, and it's all linear.
Music is just kind of an expression of who I am. It's what I do.
I started out, obviously, as a sideman, and I had some really good gigs as a sideman.
I think with the acoustic bass it allows you to explore the fuller dynamic range.
I think ticket prices are too high, but it costs so bloody much money to get anything together anymore.
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'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 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.
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.
It's tough to be in a relationship with a musician, because it reads sometimes as this ego and self-involvement when it's really just concentration and focus.
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.
They thought there was a market out there for instrumental music. They were trying to broaden their roster of artists. I got in on that.
My recollection of listening to radio was listening to a personality on the radio play music that he was connected with, and having a wide variety of music to play.