[2] He was active as a session musician and played on numerous albums by artists including Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Sting, the Eagles, Rickie Lee Jones, James Brown, George Benson, Carly Simon, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, and The Rolling Stones.

[7] David grew up in Kirkwood, Missouri, a western suburb of St Louis He contracted polio at the age of three.

[10] While confined to bed, David Sanborn was inspired by the "raw rock 'n' roll energy" of music he heard on the radio, particularly saxophone breaks in songs such as Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" and Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti".

Alto saxophonist Hank Crawford, who was a member of Ray Charles's band at the time, was an early and lasting influence on Sanborn.

[14] Sanborn attended college at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois directly north of Chicago and studied music.

In 1975 he worked with David Bowie on Young Americans and on the James Taylor recording of "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" on the album Gorilla.

In 2017, despite plans to reduce his workload to no more than 150 gigs a year, he embarked on a tour which included Istanbul and Nairobi, Kenya.

[16] Sanborn was a highly regarded session player from the late 1960s onwards and played with an array of well-known artists including James Brown, Phil Woods, Bryan Ferry, Michael Stanley, Eric Clapton, Bobby Charles, Cat Stevens, Roger Daltrey, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Jaco Pastorius, the Brecker Brothers, Michael Franks, Kenny Loggins, Casiopea, Players Association, David Bowie, Todd Rundgren, Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat, Tommy Bolin, Bob James, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, Pure Prairie League, Kenny G, Loudon Wainwright III, George Benson, Joe Beck, Donny Hathaway, Elton John, Gil Evans, Carly Simon, Guru, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Kenny Garrett, Roger Waters, Steely Dan, Ween, the Eagles, Grateful Dead, Nena, Hikaru Utada, The Rolling Stones, Ian Hunter, and Toto.

Many of Sanborn's solo recordings were collaborations with bassist/multi-instrumentalist/composer and producer Marcus Miller, whom he met in the Saturday Night Live band in the late 1970s.

[17] The album, produced by Hal Willner, featured musicians from outside the smooth jazz scene like Terry Adams, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, and Marc Ribot.

On April 8, 2007, he sat in with the Allman Brothers Band during their annual run at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, New York.

Using producer Hal Willner's eclectic approach, the show positioned Sanborn with many famed musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Pharoah Sanders, NRBQ, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Lou Reed, Elliott Sharp, Jean-Luc Ponty, Santana, Todd Rundgren, Youssou N'dour, Pere Ubu, Loudon Wainwright III, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Leonard Cohen, Sonic Youth, Was (Not Was), Anson Funderburgh, Warren Zevon, John Zorn, Curtis Mayfield, Richard Thompson, and Jo-El Sonnier.

In 2021, as the coronavirus pandemic paused live music performances in public venues, Sanborn hosted a series of master classes on Zoom and also virtual productions of "Sanborn Sessions" with artists such as Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, Sting, Michael McDonald, which involved live performances and interviews from his home in Westchester, New York.

According to an April 1988 interview in the jazz magazine DownBeat, he had a preference for Selmer Mark VI alto saxophones in the 140,000-150,000 serial number range, all produced in 1967.

[25] Sanborn died of complications from prostate cancer in Tarrytown, New York west of White Plains, on May 12, 2024, at the age of 78.

The concert was live-streamed by WBGO and hosted by Marcus Miller and Pat Prescott, and featured performances by Eric Marienthal, Bob James, Paul Shaffer, Will Lee, Kurt Elling, Randy Brecker, Alex Han and Dave Koz.