Probably the most influential saxophonist of the latter 20th century, David Sanborn was born in Florida, but grew up in Missouri. By high school, he was playing alto saxophone and sitting in with touring blues greats. Fresh out of college, he joined the Paul Butterfield Blues Band where he featured on four albums and began a session career that wound through the rest of his life. His first solo album for Warner Brothers in 1975, "Taking Off", was followed by another in each subsequent year. His fifth album, "Hideaway" (1979), reached #2 on the Billboard Jazz chart and paved the way for four #1 releases: "Voyeur" (1981), "As We Speak" (1982), "Backstreet" (1983) and "Straight to the Heart" (1984). As his interest in recording broadened, he moved away from Warners and made a string of eclectic albums through the 1990s and into the 21st century. In the 1980s, he became a weekly fixture on the David Letterman TV show, which prepared him for a 2-year stint co-hosting Night Music with Jools Holland. This was a great opportunity for David to promote some of his legendary influences (David "Fathead" Newman, Stanley Turrentine, Hank Crawford...) and introduce some of his frequent collaborators (Al Jarreau, Randy Brecker, Marcus MIller,...). And it highlighted his ability to participate in creative improvisation in any contemporart genre without compromising his unique identity as the one, the only... David Sanborn!
