David Sanborn, the alto saxophonist who defied categories by bending genres like pop, blues, and jazz into his own unique bright sound that established him as a first-call musician working with such artists Michael Franks, Bob James, Bill Evans, Carly Simon, and Stevie Wonder, died on May 12, in Tarrytown, N.Y. He was 78.
His social media account said, “Sanborn died on Sunday afternoon due to complications from an extended battle with prostate cancer but had been able to maintain his normal schedule of concerts until just recently. He already had concerts scheduled into 2025.”
Sanborn’s popular fiery sound earned him six Grammy Awards, eight gold albums, and one platinum album. Although he was most associated with smooth jazz, for which he expressed a reluctance, Sanborn studied avant garde music as a youth with master saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Julius Hemphill. In 1993, he revisited this genre with an appearance on Tim Berne’s “Diminutive Mysteries,” dedicated to Hemphill. Sanborn’s large ensemble album “Another Hand” (Elektra Musician, 1991) featured musicians from the avant garde genre.
“I guess if push comes to shove, I would describe myself as coming out of the blues-R&B side of the spectrum,” Sanborn said in a 2008 interview with NPR. “But…if you play the saxophone, you certainly can’t escape the influence of jazz.”
In 2021, as the coronavirus pandemic halted all live music performances throughout the country, Sanborn hosted a series of master classes on Zoom and also began a virtual program titled “Sanborn Sessions” from his home in Westchester, N.Y. That featured live performances and interviews with the likes of Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, Sting, and Michael McDonald.
Sanborn, not a fan of record labels, once said in a 2017 interview with DownBeat jazz magazine, “I’m not so interested in what is or isn’t jazz. The guardians of the gate can be quite combative, but what are they protecting? Jazz has always absorbed and transformed what’s around it. Real musicians don’t have any time to spend thinking about limited categories.”
David William Sanborn was born on July 30, 1945, in Tampa, Fla., where his father was stationed in the Air Force. He grew up in Kirkwood, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis. At the age of 3, he contracted polio and was in an iron lung for a year. As stated in his official biography, he began taking saxophone lessons at 11 on the advice of a doctor, who thought it would help him build respiratory strength. By the time he was 14, he was playing with such blues greats as Albert King and Little Milton. Jazz writer Scott Yanow said Sanborn “was the most influential saxophonist (of) pop, R&B, and crossover players of the past 20 years.”
After music studies at Northwestern University, Sanborn transferred to the University of Iowa, where he played and studied with saxophonist JR Monterose. After moving to California, he joined the Butterfield Blues Band and recorded on four of their albums, from 1967–71, as a horn section member and soloist. He appeared as a member of the band at the Woodstock Music Festival (1969).
He then began touring with Stevie Wonder and recorded on the track “Tuesday Heartbreak” on Wonder’s ”Talking Book” album.
Sanborn was in his late 20s when he joined David Bowie for the Diamond Dogs Tour; he’s featured on the ”David Live” double-album and joined him in the studio for the recording of Bowie’s explorations of soul and funk music on the ”Young Americans” album.
In the mid-1970s, Sanborn became part of the jazz fusion scene when he joined the Brecker Brothers band. It was with the Brothers that he recorded his first solo album, “Taking Off,” which is now regarded as a jazz/funk classic. This was followed in 1979 by his album “Hideaway,” which featured two instrumentals written with singer Michael McDonald. The single “Seduction” from that album was featured in “American Gigolo.” Just a few years later, Sanborn won his first Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for the song “All I Need Is You” on the 1981 Album “Voyeur” (Warner Bros.).
Sanborn is survived by his wife, Alice Soyer Sanborn, a pianist, vocalist, and composer; son Jonathan; two granddaughters; and sisters Sallie and Barb Sanborn.
“Rest well, Mr. Sanborn. I’ll miss our endless saxophone chats on the phone. Thank you so much for your wisdom, support and encouragement,” said saxophonist and composer Jaleel Shaw. “We are all thankful for the joy you spread throughout the world with your music, and I am so glad that I got to know you. A true hero.”