Happy Friday!
The weeks seem to fly by – I guess it is an age thing. Or maybe it's just an "I'm busy" thing? Or maybe for you, they seem to drag on forever. Anyway, Happy August! I was listening to the jazz station in the car this week and it seemed like every song they played on Wednesday featured David Sandborn. The host eventually got around to mentioning that it was his birth anniversary. Sadly, he died of prostate cancer last year (he was diagnosed in 2018), but he is a music legend. For those of you who are not into jazz, he was an alto saxophonist who played, composed and arranged music across multiple genres.
Sandborn hailed from Tampa, Florida but grew up near St. Louis, Missouri. He contracted polio at age 3 and was in an iron lung for a year. He suffered from respiratory problems as a result, and his left arm was shorter than his right arm. He liked listening to jazz during his early childhood, especially the saxophone breaks, but ended up taking piano lessons. However, at age 11, he switched to the saxophone at the advice of his doctors to strengthen his lungs and chest muscles (what great advice – it sure beats going to physical therapy sessions). He was good enough at age 14 to play with blues musicians in local clubs and he studied music at Northwestern University. He later transferred to the University of Iowa to study with J.R. Monterose.
At age 22, Sandborn went by bus to San Francisco during the "Summer of Love" (1967), jammed with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and joined them for five years as part of the horn section. He played with them at the legendary (although I'm not sure how many attendees can remember it) Woodstock Music Festival in 1968. Early in his career, he performed with music greats such as Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, James Taylor and Al Jarreau. He toured around the world, performing the equivalent of about every other day.
Sandborn was so good at improvisation that he defied the boundaries of a single type of music. After the late 1960s, he recorded with the likes of James Brown, Eric Clapton, Cat Stevens, Roger Daltrey, Paul Simon, Kenny Loggins, Pure Prairie League, Kenny G, George Benson, Elton John, Billy Joel, Linda Ronstadt, Steeley Dan, the Eagles, Aretha Franklin, The Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones to name a few, in addition to the aforementioned stars that he performed with for live audiences. He also recorded pop, funk, and R&B with Bonnie Rait, Chaka Khan and others. Besides the alto sax, he played baritone, soprano and sopranino saxophones, saxello, flute and keyboards. In the 1980s he hosted the late-night music show "Night Music" (I remember listening to it) as well as a syndicated radio show "The Jazz Show with David Sandborn". He wrote scores for "Lethal Weapon" and often performed with David Letterman's live band.
Known mostly for "smooth jazz", a term that he hated, Sandborn was the recipient of six Grammy Awards, had eight gold albums, one platinum album and was inducted to the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 2004. Despite his diagnosis, he continued to perform until just prior to his death and had concerts booked into 2025.
The Real Jazz station did a great job honoring him this week. Have a good weekend!
Deb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gUBeiLcT8s (made me smile and dance in my chair; somewhat PG rated at the end)