Ask most music lovers what music genre the saxophone is mostly associated with and the answer will probably be “Jazz”. Serious Jazz aficionados (not here 😊) have a tendency to short change David Sanborn’s importance in the overall scheme of things. I’m not suggesting that Sanborn, as a Jazz alto player, is the equal of a Phil Woods or a Kenny Garret, but in the context of all the directions that “Jazz” has taken with its fusion with popular genres he is every bit the story teller that many of the more “serious” Jazz alto players are/were. Unique sound, fantastic feel, phrasing, and one of those players that could say something with just one or two notes. Whereas Jazz saxophone playing tends to be “noty”, his was a model of economy in improvisation.
Sanborn, along with Michael Brecker, are undoubtedly the two most influential saxophone players of the last four decades or so. While Brecker was the much more accomplished Jazz player in the strict sense of the word, they both shared a certain Pop/Rock sensibility in their respective styles. Obviously, Sanborn much more so. For better or for worse the legions of alto saxophone players one hears on “Smooth Jazz” tunes owe their style to Sanborn.
Sanborn credits Stevie Wonder’s harmonica playing as a big influence on his own playing. He played the way a great blues harp player does, or a guitar player like B.B. King. Few notes, but with ultimate expressiveness. But, he could also play with a much more sophisticated sense of harmony when the musical setting called for it; like a Jazz player.
Big loss.
