David Sanborn

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

Instrumental music is increasingly marginalized.

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.

I started as a writer and when I sent my demos out everyone wanted to know who was singing and if that person wanted a record deal.

When you know the lyrics to a tune, you have some kind of insight as to it’s composition.

I’m always looking to create new avenues or new visions of music.

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

Anytime you strike the drums, you have to be aware that you’re creating a musical event.

Nothing is so well-prepared as a great spontaneous performance.

I’m not claiming divinity. I’ve never claimed purity of soul. I’ve never claimed to have the answers to life. I only put out songs and answer questions as honestly as I can… But I still believe in peace, love and understanding.

I did all you can do with a clarinet. Any more would have been less.

I could see the blues was about survival.

Jazz is not just music, it’s a way of life, it’s a way of being, a way of thinking… The new inventive phrases we make up to describe things – all that to me is jazz just as much as the music we play.

I love it. When they stop imitating me then I’ll start wondering where I’m going wrong. Every day when I sit down to play, I learn something new.

You can’t rehearse a blues darlin’.

Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.

Jazz music is haunted by its own hungry ghosts.

I love Jazz because it has the perfect balance of discipline and freedom.