“LIVE AT MONTREUX 1984” David Sanborn (Eagle Eye Media) ***
Eagle continues their breathtaking DVD series, featuring live and historic sets at the world’s pre-eminent jazz festival, with one of the world’s best saxophonists.

Sanborn’s smooth cool jazz, swinging bebop and wild rock fusion has wooed crowds for decades now. This is his headlining set from ’84, running nearly two hours. He was touring at the time to support his Grammy-winning “Straight To The Heart” album and the Swiss crowd sat in rapt attention, hanging on his every note. His band on that tour was nothing short of spectacular; Hiram Bullock on guitar (original guitarist for Paul Shaffer’s band on the original Letterman show), Larry Willis on keys, with bassist Tom Barney and drummer Buddy Williams in the engine room. Guest vocalist Rickie Lee Jones makes “Autumn Leaves” an unforgettable moment for the delighted audience.

Jazz is difficult for me to absorb- similar to listening to an old Motorhead album in that I find it impossible to digest in one sitting- but as a music fan in general I’m able to appreciate superb musicianship, and “Montreux ‘84” has that by the boatload. If you’re a Sanborn fan you’ll want to note the inclusion of a pair of tracks from David’s ’81 festival appearance, “Love Is Not Enough” and “Lotus Blossom”.

Find the right night, pour a glass of good wine, and let this DVD take you for a ride.

KEY CUTS: “Straight To The heart”, “Morning Salsa”, “Lotus Blossom”