David Sanborn

The more you play, the more you hear and the more you hear, the more you want to play.

You never get it figured out. You just keep playing.

Its all about finding the right note at the right place and knowing when to leave it alone.

You’ve got to be willing to put stuff on the line, otherwise it doesn’t have much meaning.

We’re not like pop musicians who have to perform the same top ten tunes every night of a tour.

They always want to sell me as a hard bopper.

Through Dizzy and Bird I began to learn about musical structures and the more theoretical aspects of music.

She’s Dynamite’ was a 100 years ago, and I recorded that song because the company thought that it was a great song and it was hot. That was the beginning of rock n’ roll, and I guess they thought it would be a BB King version of rock n’ roll.

Musicians need to continue higher learning try to expand the pallet.

All a musician can do is to get closer to the source.

As far back as I can remember, singing was in my blood. My parents loved music, and I loved to sing. I was scatting at an early age.

I don’t really look at my career in terms of highlights and low lights. I think I’m at this place right now and to be at this place right now I’ve had to go through many obstacles and lots of highs and lows and for me it’s about the entire journey.

I don’t care for the music when they’re talking bad about women because I think women are God’s greatest gift to the planet – I just like music.

We open our minds, stretch forth, take chances and venture out musically to arrive at something new and different.

Benny Goodman was one of the big influences as a clarinet player. That’s why I wanted the clarinet.

When you just get mixed up and there’s too much going on, then it’s time to pick up your guitar.

It’s easier to copy someone else than to find out how to avoid sounding like someone else.

We recorded to document ourselves, not to sell a lot of records.

I’m using the insides of sounds to move around in a very subtle way which, I think, ends up being inevitable. I feel its the only solution to that particular problem that I presented myself.