THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF DAVID SANBORN TO BE CELEBRATED WITH ALL-STAR BENEFIT CONCERT AT SONY HALL NOVEMBER 25 ONE-NIGHT-ONLY TRIBUTE EVENT BENEFITS THE DAVID SANBORN MEMORIAL FUND, ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
LINEUP INCLUDES MICHAEL DEASE, BASHIRI JOHNSON, GEOFFREY KEEZER, BILLY KILSON, GENE LAKE, ERIC MARIENTHAL, MARCUS MILLER, NICKY MOROCH AND RICKY PETERSON
SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES FROM RANDY BRECKER, KURT ELLING, BOB JAMES, DAVE KOZ, WILL LEE, PAUL SHAFFER AND ALICE SOYER SANBORN
September 25, 2024 - The life and legacy of the late, great David Sanborn will be celebrated with a very special tribute concert benefitting the newly founded David Sanborn Memorial Fund, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Set for November 25 at New York City’s Sony Hall, the event will feature an all-star lineup of Sanborn’s closest friends and musical collaborators including Michael Dease, Bashiri Johnson, Geoffrey Keezer, Billy Kilson, Gene Lake, Eric Marienthal, Marcus Miller, Nicky Moroch and Ricky Peterson, along with Special Guest appearances from Randy Brecker, Kurt Elling, Bob James, Dave Koz, Will Lee, Paul Shaffer and Alice Soyer Sanborn. Tickets for the David Sanborn Tribute Concert go on sale HERE this Friday, September 27 at noon ET. All proceeds will directly benefit the David Sanborn Memorial Fund, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To learn more or to make a donation, please visit the David Sanborn Memorial Fund HERE.
Over the course of his remarkable, internationally renowned career, David Sanborn earned six GRAMMY® Awards (out of 16 total nominations), honoring a wide-ranging body of work that spanned 25 albums as leader which earned him a total of eight RIAA Gold certifications as well as Platinum certification for Double Vision, his chart-topping, GRAMMY® Award-winning collaboration with Bob James. One of the most in-demand sidemen of his generation, Sanborn’s distinctive alto saxophone graced recordings from a truly extraordinary variety of top artists and undeniable superstars, from fellow jazz musicians like Miles Davis, George Benson, the Brecker Brothers, Al Jarreau and Maria Schneider to such diverse icons as James Brown, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan and Carly Simon, to name only a few.
Sanborn grew up just outside of St. Louis, contracting polio at the age of three. Weakened by the disease, he turned to the saxophone to help strengthen his lungs. The instrument proved a fortuitous means of recovery and by 14, Sanborn was playing on stage alongside musicians like Albert King and Little Milton. He studied music at Northwestern University and the University of Iowa before heading west to San Francisco where he quickly found himself sitting in on a session with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Sanborn made such an impression that he was invited to join the band as soloist and horn section member from 1967-1971, including four studio albums and their early morning appearance at 1969’s Woodstock.
Sanborn next began a long, fruitful partnership with legendary arranger Gil Evans while simultaneously racking up countless sessions with artists like James Taylor and Todd Rundgren. In 1975, he made his acclaimed debut as leader with the classic Taking Off, kicking off a more than four-decade run of top-selling albums which saw him infusing jazz with myriad strains of funk, soul, R&B, pop and world music, highlighted by such GRAMMY® Award-winning collections as 1984’s Straight To The Heart, 1988’s Close-Up and 1999’s Inside, as well as 1991’s Another Hand (perhaps his most beloved album among jazz traditionalists) and 2015’s Time and the River, the latter marking his most recent studio recording of new material.
Beyond music, Sanborn pursued a variety of TV and film opportunities, contributing scores to the Lethal Weapon film series, performing in the “Saturday Night Live” Band and as a frequent guest with Paul Shaffer’s band on David Letterman’s late night talk shows. From 1988 to 1990, he co-hosted “Night Music,” a now-legendary broadcast which saw him platforming and performing alongside a strikingly genre-expansive lineup of musicians including Lou Reed, Sonny Rollins, Sun Ra, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Leonard Cohen and Sonic Youth. Among his countless other endeavors, Sanborn hosted the syndicated radio program “The Jazz Show with David Sanborn,” and most recently, “As We Speak with David Sanborn,” a WBGO-produced podcast that saw him engaging in conversation with Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, John Scofield and other fellow jazz artists.
Sanborn passed away on May 12, 2024 after fighting a long battle with cancer. Now, with the foundation of the David Sanborn Memorial Fund, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, this extraordinary musician and artist’s singular legacy will continue to impact and inspire the lives of generations to come.
ABOUT ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was considered largely incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and it won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.
ABOUT THE BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB
A cultural institution since 1981, the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City has become one of the premiere venues in the world. While jazz is at its core, the Blue Note continues to broaden its offerings with a mission to spotlight contemporary artists across all musical styles, backgrounds and cultures. The club and its sister institutions worldwide continue to draw massive household names with frequent surprise appearances from superstars like Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock and more.
Blue Note owns and operates New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club, Sony Hall and Arthur’s Tavern; D.C.’s The Howard Theatre; and Blue Note Jazz Clubs Worldwide, which includes venues in Milan, Italy; Honolulu, HI; Beijing and Shanghai, China; Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan; Napa, CA; and Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil.
