Here and Gone | David Sanborn

Here and Gone | David Sanborn | Bringing It All Back Home

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Here and Gone

	Here and Gone David Sanborn Decca U.S., 2008 average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

On "Here and Gone," David Sanborn places his saxophone squarely within the context of the jazz-inflected pop music history that he himself has long been a part of. And while it was conceived as a tribute to his heroes, it inevitably traces his own development as the man who has heroically taken the saxophone to the next level. Few musicians are so closely identified with their instrument that they overshadow their peers, but the iconic David Sanborn truly merits his singular position as a saxophonist, unrivaled as a player who straddles the pop and jazz worlds while commanding respect in both. In pop, he is justly famed for his standout solo on David Bowie's 1975 hit "Young Americans"--one of many celebrated recording projects that evolved out of Sanborn's live supporting roles. Indeed, his matchless tone has additionally been sought to bolster performances by the esteemed likes of Eric Clapton, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder--many of whom have likewise gone on to enlist his inimitable sax presence in the studio.

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David is King!

David's latest is irrefutable proof of his virtuosity. His talent is incomparable. After meeting him in person and chatting with him recently, his humility is refreshing. What a great person!

Bringing It All Back Home

On this well thought out release, David Sanborn's soulful, roots-based, and grooving Decca debut, Here & Gone, the six-time Grammy winner becomes the fourth (known to me) artist (John Scofield's That's What I Say, Maceo Parker's Roots and Grooves, and Fathead Newman's I Remember Brother Ray) to pay homage to the genius, Ray Charles. Sanborn's approach to Brother Ray is not all that apparent and obvious, as he makes deeper connections to one of his own early influences, that being Hank Crawford, who was Charles' arranger and sax-player.

Some of my favorite tracks include: Marcus Miller's "Brother Ray," featuring Derek Trucks; Roy Jordan and William Weldon's "I'm Gonna Move To the Outskirts Of Town" with exceptional vocals from Clapton, where interestingly he does not get an abundance of time to solo, but it's all good just the same; Hank Crawford's "Stoney Lonesome"; Charles' "I Believe To My Soul" with strong vocals from Joss Stone, who sounds far better here than on her most recent recordings; and Ray Alfred's "I've Got News For You," where Sam Moore delivers the goods big time and sounds so much like Brother Ray (with his vocal inflections) that it's scary.

This is a great, unexpected, and most welcome release from Sanborn. The guest artists (Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Joss Stone, and Sam Moore) are all right-on and give tasty performances. Sanborn's playing is far more bluesy than usual and his tone is (as always) uniquely Sanborn. The core band consists of bassist Christian McBride, guitarist Russell Malone, keyboardist Gil Goldstein (who deserves huge kudos for providing the extremely sensitive and evocative arrangements), plus B3 player Ricky Peterson and the always wonderful Steve Gadd on drums. All are "A" team players who offer more than an appropriate backdrop, making the quality of this recording consistent throughout. Throw in guest horn appearances from top-shelf session players like Lew Soloff, Wallace Roney, "Blue Lou" Marini, and Howard Johnson and it's no wonder that this is a very solid recording. Producer Phil Ramone has also done a fine job at bringing out the best from each and every musician.

If you're like me and usually find David Sanborn's recent outings a little too smooth, I would suggest that you to give this recording ample listening, as it's the real deal and not a commercial throwaway. Clearly this disc is not like Sanborn's days with Butterfield (who he performed at Woodstock with), this is about Brother Ray and Hank Crawford, as Sanborn states in the liner notes: "Very special thanks to Hank Crawford for his inspiration," which says it all for me!

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His best in recent times?

I know alto saxophonist David Sanborn has his critics. Put him on after listening to a Kenny Garret CD and it's easy to see why. He's not exactly hardcore.

But I like him. His music was part of my introduction to contemporary jazz (or jazz fusion as it was called back then), so many years ago and I've been a fan ever since. This album, produced by Phil Ramone and inspired by Hank Crawford, is a nice set of blues-influenced songs and with a big band line-up like the one he has here: Steve Gadd on drums; Christian McBride on bass; Russell Malone on drums; Gil Goldstein on Rhodes & Wurlitzer electric piano; Ricky Peterson on Hammond B3; Keyon Harrold, Lew Soloff & Wallace Roney on trumpet; Mike Davis on tenor trombone; Lou Marini on tenor sax; Howard Johnson on baritone sax and Charles Pillow & John Moses on bass clarinet, the music couldn't possibly be anything but good.

I balked when I learned that Joss Stone was on this album (I simply. Can. Not. Stand. The woman) but I thought, she's only on the one track after all and really, how bad could she possibly be?

As it turns out, the track she sings on, "I Believe To My Soul", isn't bad at all. In fact, I think it's quite good. But it's the song itself I like and not Joss Stone's performance on it, if that makes any sense. The producer thankfully kept her wannabee pretensions in check and she sounds just like any other competent singer - if I close my eyes and try my hardest to forget that it's her.

My favourite tracks on here include the dreamy album opener, "St. Louis Blues" (written by W.C. Handy); the Marcus Miller-penned "Brother Ray", featuring Derek Trucks on guitar; "I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town" (Roy Jordan/William Weldon), featuring vocals (and guitar?) by Eric Clapton; "Basin Street Blues (Spencer Williams); the solemn "What Will I Tell My Heart" (Peter Tinturn/Jack Lawrence/Irving Gordon) and the obviously Ray Charles-influenced album closer, "I've Got News For You", written by Roy Alfred and featuring vocals by Sam Moore.

Have I heard better from David Sanborn? Most definitely. I'm still waiting for an album to top classics and personal favourites like 1982's As We Speak, 1984's Straight to the Heart, 1995's Pearls and 1996's Songs from the Night Before. But this is definitely up there. In my view, one of his best in recent times.

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Great sax playing

As always, David Sanborn's sax playing is without compare. He is a master of technique that is able to etch a considerable amount of emotion and character into everything he plays. My big beef with this disc is that it seems watered down. Most of the things I enjoy about a Sanborn disk, rhythmic, musical and tonal complexity are, for the most part, absent from this disk. The guest appearances are great, especially Sam Moore, who absolutely knocks it out of the park. But for the most part, this disk just left me flat.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Tracks
St. Louis Blues | Brother Ray | I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town | Basin Street Blues | Stoney Lonesome | I Believe It To My Soul | What Will I Tell My Heart | Please Send Me Someone To Love | I've Got News For You

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