David Sanborn

Multi-Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer, and arranger David Sanborn was among the most commercially successful saxophonists to emerge from the 1970s, carving out a career that saw him playing all types of jazz as well as rock, soul, and R&B, with a biting, instantly recognizable tone that was always passionate and completely committed. A pioneer of smooth and contemporary jazz, he was also a prolific session player for artists as diverse as Esther Phillips, David Bowie, and Ween, a host of the groundbreaking television show Night Music, and his records (from 1980's Hideaway to 2015's Time and the River) consistently hit the charts. He also delved into soul-jazz, as on 2008's Ray Charles tribute Here & Gone, and made acclaimed straight-ahead recordings like his 2014 post-bop pairing with Bobby Hutcherson on Only Everything.