David Sanborn at the Uptown Theater, 9/23/08
David Sanborn
September 23, 2008
Uptown Theater
Better Than: A Steel Cage Deathmatch between Kenny G and Dave Koz.
By JOHN KREICBERGS
What is there to say about smooth jazz that hasn’t been said a million times before? Safe? Check. Saccharine sweet? Check. Flaccid? Check. Lacking soul? Check. Commercial? Check. Musique d’ameublement? Check.
While most would point to such smooth jazz staples as Kenny G or the Yellowjackets as being the artistic antithesis of the wild men and women of jazz that preceded them, the outright dismissal of an entire genre of music – and a successful one at that – is hard to justify. In such moments, it simply reveals a sense of laziness on the part of the critic or listener in wanting to separate craft from crap. Strolling into the Uptown Theater last night to catch proclaimed smooth jazz elderstatesman David Sanborn, the primary goal was to open both my ears and my mind.
Fronting a four-piece rhythm section consisting of guitarist Nicky Moroch, keyboardist/organist Ricky Peterson, drummer Gene Lake and bassist Richard Patterson, Sanborn paced through an hour and a half long set with passionate determination. Mixing older cuts, including a sincere though hard-edged take on the title track from his 1981 release As We Speak, with newer material from his most recent disc Here & Gone, the 63 year-old saxophonist pushed and played the crowd the way that only a multi-decade veteran of the jazz scene could. Yet where Sanborn’s younger protégés and imitators often fall into the trap of mistaking gimmicks for substance, he proved he could cut to the quick with solos unencumbered by overt technical displays, choosing instead to concentrate on his remarkable capacity for harmonic and rhythmic daring.
From moments of slow and low funk, including a number of organ forays that would make any Medeski, Martin and Wood/jam jazz fan kick up their Birkenstocks in pharmaceutically induced delight, to the obligatory smooth jazz flights of snoring…sorry…soaring fancy, the evening’s setlist was a diverse affair. The highlight of the evening came with a cover of the King Curtis’ “Soul Serenade.” A rocking and rollicking R&B classic, Sanborn and his band whipped the modest crowd (a generous descriptor, to be sure) into a roadside revival-like state of shouts and high-swaying hands.
For the record, the descriptor of “smooth jazz” is one that Sanborn has on more than one occasion outright rejected. As a force in post-fusion jazz, there’s little doubt that saxophonist David Sanborn has earned his dues. Yet while few musicians may ever admit a direct influence, Sanborn’s mantle as a trendsetter that defined the tonal approach for generations of jazz saxophonists after him is well earned. His sound is his calling card – clear, soaring, broad but rarely overblown and…well…smooth.
Setlist (partial)
As We Speak
What Will I Tell My Heart
Benny
Soul Serenade
Critics Notebook
Personal Bias: Pretty sure that smooth jazz is Satan’s soundtrack of choice for the elevator ride between the eighth and ninth levels of hell.
Random Detail: The show ended at 9:30, which is probably a pretty late night for all those that happened to hit the early buffet at the Golden Corral.
By the way: Kansas City was a homecoming of sorts for Sanborn, who grew up cross-state in Kirkwood, Missouri.
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