StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on David Sanborn

A couple of weeks ago, we promised you some David Sanborn performance videos, and here they are - a quartet of clips showcasing several sides of the versatile alto saxophonist and St. Louis native. (Yes, technically, Sanborn was born in Tampa, FL, but since he spent all of his formative years here, we proudly claim him for the Gateway City.)

First up is "Chicago Song," a Hubert Laws composition that Sanborn very effectively has made his own. The studio version has a very 1980s synth-funk vibe to it; this live rendition open up that groove just a bit while still retaining the song's insanely catchy hooks.

Next up is a clip from the TV show Night Music (aka Sunday Night), in which Sanborn, who also hosted the program, teams up with Dizzy Gillespie for a version of the bebop standard "Tin Tin Deo," demonstrating that, yes, he can play bop quite nicely, thank you very much.

(Sanborn got to play with all sorts of famous folk on Night Music, a show uniquely suited to his multi-genre capabilities and one which still hasn't been issued on DVD. Most of the YouTube clips that circulate online seem to be from old VHS cassettes taped off the original broadcasts of the show. Please, won't someone put out a box set of Night Music DVDs?)

Down below, you'll find Sanborn's version of the ballad "Smile," which he first recorded several years ago and played during his set at the 2006 St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival, dedicating it to his mom, who was in the audience.

Last but not least, the final clip showcases Sanborn once again getting funky with a live version of "Slam" recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Sanborn's new CD, Here and Gone, is just out on the revived Decca label, and he'll be in St. Louis on Friday, September 26 to perform at The Pageant.





(Editor's note: "StLJN Saturday Video Showcase" is, as you've probably figured out by now, the new name for the weekly post formerly known as "StLJN Saturday at the Movies." The old name was fine when we first began the weekly video posts a couple of years ago with a series of old cartoons with jazz soundtracks, but given that the content these days consists of short music videos, not full-length films, the new name is a bit more accurate.)

(Edited 8/19/08 to fix a typo.)