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David Sanborn music biography continued...

Missouri, Sanborn started playing the saxophone as therapy for a case of polio he suffered with as a youngster. He started playing in rhythm and blues bands in St. Louis as a teen, and then studied the sax at Northwestern University in Chicago. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sanborn had become a much sought-after sideman and session musician. His debut solo outing was 1975's Taking Off, helped spur major-label record company interest in fusion music. After recording his 1976 self-titled effort, Sanborn returned in 1978 with the acclaimed Heart to Heart, a risky endeavor which used a pop fusion rhythm section with horns. His fourth effort, the breakthrough rhythm and blues album Hideaway released in 1980 placed Sanborn at the forefront, establishing him as one of pop's premier saxophonists and cementing his mainstream appeal. With this release, Sanborn garnered the first of his several Grammy Award nominations. He would go on to collect his first Grammy for best rhythm and blues instrumental performance for his gold-selling album Voyeur, which was released in 1981. In 1987, Sanborn, along with collaborator Bob James, earned another Grammy for the platinum-selling Double Vision, and in 1989, Sanborn earned a third Grammy, this time for best pop instrumental for 1988's Close-Up. By this time, Sanborn was a household name.



Sanborn maintained his popularity throughout the 1990s as well. In all, Sanborn boasted album sales exceeding the six million mark, netting one platinum and six gold albums, including the urban funk album Upfront released in 1992. In the early '90s, Sanborn was the host of the syndicated television series Night Music which had a very diverse lineup of musicians (from Sonny Rollins and Sun Ra to James Taylor and heavy metal players), most of whom were given the unique opportunity to play together. Sanborn continues to record and perform in the new millennium, always given to musical curiosity and experimentation that has made him one of the most innovative artists of his age.