Alto saxophonist David Sanborn’s music is usually categorized as smooth jazz, much to his chagrin. Sanborn, who died Sunday at age 78, released 25 albums leading his own band, incorporating rock, R&B and gospel into with the jazz, but no matter, you’ll find them filed under Jazz, Smooth. They don’t even care that Sanborn’s playing isn’t mellow at all, it’s bright and brassy, as on the title track to his 1980 album “Hideaway.”
But even if you’ve never heard a minute of his jazz, you’ve been listening to David Sanborn for 50 years. He performed at Woodstock with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and over the years played with a ridiculously long list of rock, R&B and jazz artists. He also found time to host a late-night TV music show in the late ’80s that brought just as eclectic a guest list to the masses.
In 1975 Sanborn went on the road with David Bowie for his Diamond Dogs tour, then played a major role on the subsequent “Young Americans” album. His sax essentially takes the role of a lead guitar on the title track.
Sanborn’s TV show, first called “Sunday Night” and later “Night Music,” ran for two seasons, 1988 and ’89. It featured an eclectic roster of guests each week, and Sanborn got to play with a lot of them. Here he adds a sizzling solo to Squeeze’s R&B-flavored hit “Tempted”; the show’s co-host, former Squeeze keyboard player, Jools Holland, is on piano. Glenn Tilbrook handles the lead that Paul Carrack sang on the record.
