The six time Grammy Award winning saxophone player David Sanborn died May 12, 2024  in Tarrytown, NEW York at the age of 78 as a result of prostrate cancer.

Over the course of his 60 year career, Sanborn collaborated with artists from numerous musical genres including David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Bob James, The Rolling Stones, James Taylor, James Brown, Albert King, Todd Rundgren, Michael Franks, Chaka Khan, Bonnie Raitt, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band where he performed at Woodstock as a member of the band.

Sanborn was just 14 when he made his professional debut playing with Blues greats Little Milton and Albert King.

Sanborn adapted his musical tone from Ray Charles’ music director Hank Crawford; but Sanborn also made the sound his own personal musical voice.

David William Sanborn was born on July 30, 1945 in Tampa, Florida but was raised in Kirkwood, Missouri.  Like thousands of children, he contracted polio at the age of three.  Lucky to survive the devastating disease, his lungs, an arm and a leg were affected,   Seen as a form of rehab, young David began playing the saxophone.  The therapy became an obsession that later grew into a very successful career.

Part of that career included some late night television including a short stint as a member of the “Saturday Night Live” house band, a frequent gust of Paul Schaffer on “Late Night with David Letterman”, and a short lived program “Night Music”.

In an interview with “DownBeat” magazine, Sanborn said, “Jazz has always transformed and absorbed what’s around it.  Real musicians don’t have any time to spend thinking about limited categories.”

No list of survivors was released.

David Sanborn discography:
“Beck & Sanborn”
“Taking Off”
“Sanborn”
“Promise Me the Moon”
“Heart to Heart”
“Hideaway”
“Voyeur”
“As We Speak”
“Backstreet”
“Straight to the Heart”
“Double Vision”
“A Change of Heart”
“Close-Up”
“Another Hand”
“Upfront”
“Hearsay”
“Pearls”
“Songs from the Night Before”
“Inside”
“Time Again”
“Area Reservada 3”
“Closer”
“Dreaming Girl
“Here & Gone”
“Only Everything”
“Quartette Humaine”
“Enjoy the View”
“Tim and the River”
“Bye Bye Blackbird: Blowing in Chicago”
“You Are Everything”
“I Told You So”
“Imogene”
“Camel Island”

Feature photo credit: David Sanborn tijdens het North Sea Jazz Festival 2015