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
It's always difficult to define what jazz is or what jazz isn't. To me, the only definition that I can think of is it's music where a lot of different elements are played at the same time. The harmonic, the melodic... You're pushing the boundaries on every level. That could be true of rhythm and blues as well. I'm a musician.
Jazz music by its very nature is just a conglomerate of a lot of different kinds of music.
Jazz music should be inclusive. Smooth jazz to me rules out a certain kind of drama and a certain tension that I think all music needs. Especially jazz music, since improvising is one of the cornerstones of what jazz is. And when you smooth it out, you take all the drama out of it.
You never get it figured out. You just keep playing.
My whole contention, and my feeling in general about radio is, not just jazz radio, or smooth jazz radio, or whatever-radio in general is, I would like to see a little more variety within each one station.
I started out, obviously, as a sideman, and I had some really good gigs as a sideman.
I was playing with James Taylor at the time. James agreed to let me open for him, if I played with him also. So I got to be the opening act and I got a lot of exposure that way.
Mostly because I don't really feel that I have a methodology.
Well, I really enjoyed the process of making the last album so much that it's like kind of not wanting the party to end in a way.
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'm somebody that pretty much operates by instinct, and I kind of have to follow my instincts.
The problem often times with trying to recreate some moment is that you kind of try to do part two or a sequel.
Usually there's some kind of clue, whether it's a rhythmic foundation or sometimes its very abstract - just an emotional kind of landscape - and then you just kind of start someplace.
But certainly the idea of making records that had a mainstream appeal instrumentally was nothing that we invented.