Fast Fact Sheet

For when you need to learn a lot about David in not a lot of time.

Full Name: David William Sanborn

Date and place of birth: July 30, 1945, Tampa Florida

Grew-up in: St. Louis, Missisouri

How David got his start playing the sax: David contracted polio at age 3. To help him recover from the disease's lingering effects, a doctor recommended that a pre-teen David learn to play an instrument that would strengthen his lungs. A fan of blues, jazz and R&B from an early age, David decided that he would learn the alto sax because the instrument frequently had a starring role in the music of one of his favorite groups - the Ray Charles Band.

David’s musical background: David played his sax all through junior and senior high, even having the opportunity to play alongside the great blues guitarists Albert King and Little Milton. After high school, he studied music for a year at Northwestern and then transferred over to the University of Iowa where he continued his studies.

How David’s career got its start: When he was in his early twenties, a friend out in California convinced David to come out to the Sunshine State. While there, another friend, who just happened to be a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, invited David to sit in on the band’s recording sessions. He arrived at the studio with his sax in hand (and little else) so Paul Butterfield asked him to play on a song. It was the start of David’s five-year career in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Then what happened: After the break-up of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, David kept busy (very busy in fact) playing the sax on other people’s albums as well as touring with Stevie Wonder and James Taylor. In 1975, Warner Brothers gave him the opportunity to record his first solo album.

Number of solo albums: 22

First solo album: Taking Off, released in 1975.

Latest solo album: Closer, released in 2005 on Verve Records.

Just a handful of the albums’ David’s appeared on:

  • David Bowie: Young Americans
  • James Brown: Reality; Hell
  • Eric Clapton: Journeyman
  • Eagles: Live; The Long Run; One of Those Nights; On the Border; The Eagles
  • Bryan Ferry: Boys and Girls
  • Lenny Kravitz: Baptism
  • Billy Joel: An Innocent Man
  • Elton John: Blue Moves
  • The Rolling Stones: Undercover
  • Carly Simon: Hello Big Man; Torch; Spy; Boys in the Trees
  • Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run
  • Steely Dan: Gaucho

A few of the artists David has performed live with:

  • David Bowie
  • Eric Clapton
  • Miles Davies
  • Eagles
  • Gil Evans
  • Paul Butterfield Blues Band
  • The Rolling Stones
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • James Taylor
  • Stevie Wonder

David has won the following awards:

  • the 1981 Best R&B Instrumental Performance (orchestra, group or solo) award for the single “All I Need Is You” (off Voyeur)
  • the 1985 Best Jazz Fusion Performance award for the album Straight to the Heart
  • the 1986 Best Jazz Fusion Performance award for the album Double Vision
  • the 1987 Best R&B Instrumental Performance (orchestra, group or solo) award for the single “Chicago Song” (off A Change of Heart)
  • the 1988 Best Pop Instrumental Performance award for the album Close Up
  • the 1999 Best Contemporary Jazz Performance, Instrumental award for the album Inside