LP Music

A big punch in the gut today over the passing of David Sanborn. I have nothing to add as regards his musical legacy. It speaks for itself. He was perhaps the most influential and emulated alto saxophonist for many, many years. But I will miss him as a friend.
We shared something in common that was "essential" to both of us. We both considered the music of Ray Charles, and the saxophone players in his iconic late 50's-early 60's band as our primary influences. For me it was tenorman David "Fathead" Newman. For David it was altoman Hank Crawford. We used to talk about how much their music and albums meant to us when we were just learning how to play. David was a walking encyclopedia of so much of the music that was important to me, and we had a lot of fun trading stories about all our favorite "cats". For years whenever David would come to Minneapolis , he would ask me to sit in with him. He was so generous with his music and he always had a tremendous band (often with my dear friend Ricky Peterson on keys). Playing with David was always like coming "home" for me, cause his music contained so many of my own musical "stem cells" .His music also reflected how smart he was, both culturally and politically. But as much as anything I will miss David's sense of humor. To say that it was "raucous" would be an understatement. It was impossible to talk with David for more than a minute or two before cracking up in laughter. I was honored to be considered a friend by David not nearly as much because of the musician he was as because of the person that he was. I will miss him dearly as musician and even more as a friend.