Sanborn Redux at Birchmere

Courtesy of the Washington Post

Like his new CD, timeagain, saxophonist David Sanborn's performance at the Birchmere on Thursday night seemed tailor-made to delight some of his oldest fans, those who prefer to hear him play in fervent or festive R&B settings.

Then again, Sanborn may have chosen the tunes for purely selfish reasons, since he obviously enjoyed revisiting some of the instrumental hits he listened to in his youth. Among them was King Curtis's "Soul Serenade," which easily ranked among the evening's highlights. It soon evolved into a soul strut, brightened by the incandescent tone Sanborn customarily generates on alto and propelled by his band's rhythmic swagger.

"Harlem Nocturne," another period piece, found the veteran reedman playing it cool, deftly evoking a noirish mood, while "Tequila" was served straight up with a twist of improvisation. Some of the more contemporary tunes, especially "Snakes," recalled Sanborn's fruitful collaborations with producer Marcus Miller and were animated by bassist Richard Patterson's thumb-slapped beats. The woven polyrhythmic backdrops created by percussionist Don Alias and drummer Gene Lake also prevented the sextet from falling into the numbing backbeat patterns commonly associated with smooth jazz.

Not that Sanborn didn't occasionally uncork a radio-groomed ballad or indulge in a crowd-pleasing sing-along. But he spent most of the night pursuing his passion for R&B-flavored sounds. He got a big assist, too, from Ricky Patterson, who often scribbled out Hammond B-3 lines when he wasn't evoking the days when the Fender Rhodes keyboards came into fashion, nearly 40 years ago. Sanborn's next CD may take him in an entirely different direction, but for now, at least, he's playing to his strengths.

- Mike Joyce