---
name: "David Sanborn"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-sanborn"
fi1m_id: "david-sanborn"
imdb_id: "nm0760824"
tmdb_id: 14322
wikidata_id: "Q178112"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "30 July 1945"
died: "12 May 2024"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 64
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-10-05T01:11:28.148108+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Sanborn

## Identity

David Sanborn

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/david-sanborn
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** david-sanborn
- **IMDb ID:** nm0760824
- **TMDB ID:** 14322
- **Wikidata ID:** Q178112
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sanborn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q178112, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0760824/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14322

Composer. Born 30 July 1945 in Q49255. Died 12 May 2024.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 30 July 1945, Q49255
- **Died:** 12 May 2024
- **Active:** 1989–1998
- **Frequently works with:** [Danny Glover](https://film.one/person/danny-glover.md), [Eric Clapton](https://film.one/person/eric-clapton.md), [Joel Silver](https://film.one/person/joel-silver.md), [Joe Pesci](https://film.one/person/joe-pesci.md), [Mel Gibson](https://film.one/person/mel-gibson.md), [Michael Kamen](https://film.one/person/michael-kamen.md), [Richard Donner](https://film.one/person/richard-donner.md), [Jeffrey Boam](https://film.one/person/jeffrey-boam.md)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 74 (1), 1990s 60 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 64 to 58 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Action 3, Crime 3, Thriller 3
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $835m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sanborn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q178112, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0760824/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14322

## Biography

David Sanborn was an American alto saxophonist and session musician. He contributed saxophone to the soundtrack of *Lethal Weapon 2* (1989), co-composed with Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton.

Sanborn appeared as a street musician in *Scrooged* (1988) and as himself in episodes of *Magnum, P.I.* and the film *Forget Paris* (1995). He was born in Tampa, Florida, and died in Tarrytown, New York.

*Sources: nytimes.com, en.wikipedia.org, michaelkamen.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Lethal Weapon 4* (1998), Fi1m 55, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/lethal-weapon-4.md)
- *Lethal Weapon 3* (1992), Fi1m 64, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/lethal-weapon-3.md)
- *Lethal Weapon 2* (1989), Fi1m 74, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/lethal-weapon-2.md)

## Complete filmography (13)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Investigator* (2013), as Paul
- *Monterey Pop - The Outtake Performances* (2002), as The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
- *Lethal Weapon 4* (1998), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/lethal-weapon-4.md)
- *Forget Paris* (1995), as David Sanborn
- *Lethal Weapon 3* (1992), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/lethal-weapon-3.md)
- *Michael Kamen: Concerto for Saxophone* (1991), Actor
- *Lethal Weapon 2* (1989), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/lethal-weapon-2.md)
- *Scrooged* (1988), as Street Musician — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/scrooged.md)
- *Finnegan Begin Again* (1985), Original Music Composer
- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), series, Actor
- *One Trick Pony* (1980), as Saxophone Soloist
- *James Taylor in Concert: Live at Blossom Music Center* (1979), Actor
- *Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight* (1975), Original Music Composer

## Gallery

- ![David Sanborn](https://film.one/media/person/5554461/gallery-ed5e7d8a8092.jpg) David Sanborn — TDKR Chicago 101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/David_Sanborn_2015_brighter.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![David Sanborn, Festival de Jazz Riviera Maya 2008](https://film.one/media/person/5554461/gallery-d404b3bd530a.jpg) David Sanborn, Festival de Jazz Riviera Maya 2008 — Noticaribe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/David_Sanborn_2008_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![David Sanborn tijdens het North Sea Jazz Festival 2015](https://film.one/media/person/5554461/gallery-b446762f108a.jpg) David Sanborn tijdens het North Sea Jazz Festival 2015 — Gershowitz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/David_Sanborn.jpg/1280px-David_Sanborn.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Description Dave Sanborn plays in San Francisco Date October 17, 2003 Location Union Square, San Francisco, California Photographer Franco Folini Other versions](https://film.one/media/person/5554461/gallery-38d82930c2b7.jpg) Description Dave Sanborn plays in San Francisco Date October 17, 2003 Location Union Square, San Francisco, California Photographer Franco Folini Other versions — No machine-readable author provided. Folini assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/David_Sanborn_in_San_Francisco.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![David Sanborn, Festival de Jazz Riviera Maya 2008](https://film.one/media/person/5554461/gallery-44df9c94f81a.jpg) David Sanborn, Festival de Jazz Riviera Maya 2008 — Noticaribe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/David_Sanborn_2008_3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-sanborn