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Nov. 15, 2011: Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London. With Joey DeFrancesco on Hammond and Byron Landham on drums this was a mind-blowing set that stood head and shoulders above anything else at that year's London Jazz Festival. REVIEW.
Nov. 18, 2013: The Barbican, London. Two years later, almost to the day, I was once again knocked sideways. This time he was with Bob James (piano); Scott Colley (bass) and Steve Gadd (drums). Come the end, a lady sitting next to me said "I'm going to get that CD". Not only did she do so but also sent a mini REVIEW and a cartoon. I wonder where she is now? My REVIEW.
April 11, 2015: Gateshead International Jazz Festival @ Sage, Gateshead. Looking back it seems as though I found him too perfect - as if that was a crime! If it is then he must surely now be given a posthumous pardon. His playing at all three gigs was as funky as they come. REVIEW.
David Sanborn was 78. May he Rest In Peace. Lance
PODCAST LINK. (See comment by Colin Muirhead)
3 comments :
I too was at the Barbican gig. I seem to recall that was the same year we didn't see Sonny Rollins, who cancelled due to ill-health. My best man and landlord in London is a massive Bowie fan so I knew he'd be up for it (Sanborn plays on the Young Americans album).
I saw him again at the Cheltenham Festival and when he sat down, I wondered whether he could still play. Oh yes.
As a young man, I was never a big fan, as he came into my radar at a time when jazz-funk was descending into smooth jazz and I was descending into a jazz snob. Friends of mine went to Manchester to see him when he supported Al Jarreau, but it was more for Sanborn.
I'm DJing in Durham on friday and will be playing Bob James-Touchdown, Steve Khan-Darling Darling Baby, Batann's version of the Bottle and his own Let's Just Say Goodbye.
Incidentally, James' Angela (theme from Taxi) was playing in the taxi from Louis Armstrong airport to our accomodation last year, which I took as a good sign.
Due to popular demand it looks like I'll be adding Chicago Song and Butterfat to my playlist on friday.
This is sad news. I plan to pay my own tribute to David on the next edition of Jazz on the Tyne. In the meantime, I would recommend you check out a series of podcasts by David called As We Speak. They started last autumn and feature conversations with Sonny Rollins, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Pat Metheny and Samara Joy, amongst others. You can find them here: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1201331649/as-we-speak-with-david-sanborn
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