Timeagain

On his 2003 Verve label debut, saxophonist David Sanborn continued down the path of his half-dozen prior releases on Nonesuch, taking numbers from the modern pop songbook along with originals and less obvious standards. One of this lush, mostly acoustic album’s overriding hallmarks are its fleet horn, string and even rhythm section arrangements by Gil Goldstein. With players such as Goldstein on piano, ex–Steps Ahead vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, guitarist Russell Malone, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Steve Gadd, the performances start with a solid foundation. The strings on Joni Mitchell’s “Man from Mars” and Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” play interactive rather than background roles. On saxophonist Stanley Turrentine’s soul jazz classic “Sugar”, Malone and Sanborn take meaty yet measured solos. And for his own “Little Flower”, Sanborn plays Satie-like piano accompaniment, as well as yearning saxophone lines.