Kathy Sanborn

Sanborn has been compared to 1950s cool jazz singers Anita O'Day, Chris Connor, and June Christy due to her smooth vocals and clear diction. Her vocal tone has been compared to the 1970s singer-songwriter Laura Nyro for its depth and timbre. JazzTimes on Sanborn's work: "Romance is always in the air as far as Kathy Sanborn is concerned, and her songs are reflections of those emotions which take flight when overpowered by love."{{cite web|title=Blues for Breakfast review|url=http://jazztimes.com/community/articles/27105-kathy-sanborn|website=JazzTimes|accessdate=29 November 2014}}

Spain's NoSoloSmoothJazz.com says: "Kathy Sanborn is one of the most original vocalists in the American musical landscape."{{cite web|title=No Solo Smooth Jazz|url=http://www.nosolosmoothjazz.com/?p=13733|website=No Solo Smooth Jazz|accessdate=29 November 2014}}

With the release of Peaceful Sounds, Eric Cohen of New York radio station WAER proclaimed that Sanborn's voice "truly is a gift from the heavens."{{cite web|title=WAER on Kathy Sanborn|url=http://www.kathysanborn.com/press/|accessdate=29 November 2014}}

Sanborn demonstrated a love of music from an early age, and performed in front of a mirror in her bedroom. She began ballet studies as a youth, but turned her focus to piano and voice, performing in various school plays and concerts.

Her father was an amateur sax player and lover of big band music. Consequently, Sanborn had an early introduction to jazz music and its major performers.{{cite web|title=Podcast Interview of Kathy Sanborn on Blogtalk Radio|date=22 October 2014 |url=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ryanskorner/2014/10/22/interview-with-singersongwriter-kathy-sanborn|accessdate=17 April 2017}}

Self-released in 2008, Peaceful Sounds is Sanborn's debut album, combining jazz and new age music. The sometimes dark and philosophical album garnered almost immediate international radio attention. She followed it with Small Galaxy (2010), a more upbeat album which reached No. 4 on radio station WSCA's Top Chart.

Blues for Breakfast (2011), featured Grammy nominee Scott Petito on bass, Chris Carey on drums, and Wayne Ricci on trumpet. The title track showcased Sanborn's love of jazz history and her affection for the famed musicians of the 1930s-50s who performed on New York's 52nd Street. Sanborn said, "I wrote the song, 'Blues for Breakfast', as a fond tribute to the jazz masters of days gone by. On New York's 52nd Street, the greats would 'walk the high wire' and enthrall and inspire new generations of jazz players. As jazz continues to evolve in the modern era, I imagine the masters are looking down and nodding their approval."{{cite web|title=All Music|website=AllMusic |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-for-breakfast-mw0002096846|accessdate=29 November 2014}}

In 2011, Sanborn released her single, "Magnetized," dedicated to film historian and Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne. A fan of classic movies, Sanborn composed the jazz love song as an homage to the power of attraction exhibited by film stars.{{cite web|title=Sacramento Talent Magazine|url=http://www.sactalent.com/emag/story/kathy-sanborn|website=Sacramento Talent Magazine|accessdate=29 November 2014}}

Six Degrees of Cool (2012) showcased Sanborn's cool jazz roots. The album includes "Bitter Winter" and "Shanty Man," songs referring to societal effects of economic depression. "Drawing from renowned influences such as cool jazz giants Miles Davis, Chet Baker, and Anita O'Day, Sanborn's new album brings cool jazz into today's contemporary scene."{{cite web|title=All About Jazz news|url=http://news.allaboutjazz.com/news.php?id=99547|website=All About Jazz| date=23 August 2012 |accessdate=29 November 2014}}

Sultry Night (2013) includes songs honoring Anita O'Day and Cary Grant. Sanborn composed, arranged, sang, played piano, and produced the album.{{cite web|title=Pacific Coast Jazz|url=http://pacificcoastjazz.com/kathy-sanborn/|website=Pacific Coast Jazz|accessdate=29 November 2014}}

Sanborn won a 2015 American Songwriting Award for "Fantasy," the first single released from her 2015 album, Lights of Laniakea.{{cite web|title=Sanborn wins 2015 American Songwriting Award|url=https://americansongwritingawards.com/winners/2015-winners/|accessdate=30 June 2015}}

Kej worked with Sanborn on the album Lights of Laniakea (2015).{{cite web|title=Sanborn to release new album in 2015|date=15 May 2015 |url=http://news.allaboutjazz.com/grammy-winning-producer-ricky-kej-joins-singer-songwriter-kathy-sanborn-in-lights-of-laniakea.php/|accessdate=18 May 2015}}

Says Sanborn, "Back in 2014 at the University of Hawaii, scientists mapped a new supercluster that contains our own galaxy, the Milky Way. They named it Laniakea, which means, 'Immeasurable Heaven.' The album, Lights of Laniakea, describes our universal desire to live in the light – in the 'immeasurable heaven' that is our home."{{cite web|title=Lights of Laniakea by Kathy Sanborn|url=http://www.kathysanborn.com/music/lights_of_laniakea/|accessdate=15 August 2015}}

In 2016, Lights of Laniakea was nominated for a ZMR Award (Best Vocal Album){{cite web|title=Lights of Laniakea ZMR nominee|url=http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/admin/nominees.asp|accessdate=21 February 2016}} and a One World Music Radio Award (Best Vocal Album).{{cite web|title=Lights of Laniakea One World Music Radio Awards nominee|url=http://www.oneworldmusic.co.uk/#/owmr-awards/4581224063|accessdate=21 February 2016}}

Sanborn appeared on the compilation Action Moves People United, which also featured Julian Lennon, Janis Ian, and Dan Aykroyd, among many others. The album reached Billboard's top ten chart for compilation albums.

Beginning 2016, Sanborn contributed a column to the jazz web site, All About Jazz. Titled "In the Biz," the column featured Sanborn's interviews with jazz colleagues such as David Longoria, Arun Shenoy, Carol Albert, Roberta Piket, and many more. The column focused on the business of jazz music today, and how jazz musicians can best promote themselves and their music.{{cite web|title=In the Biz, a column by Kathy Sanborn at All About Jazz| date=2 April 2017 |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article_center.php?in_type=216|accessdate=17 April 2017}}

Sanborn's eighth album, Recollecting You, released August 4, 2017.{{cite web|title=Sanborn releases Recollecting You in 2017|url=https://www.prlog.org/12646456-cool-never-sounded-so-hot-award-winning-jazz-singer-kathy-sanborn-to-release-recollecting-you.html|accessdate=19 June 2017}} A single from the album, "Falling," won a 2017 Clouzine International Music Award for Best Jazz Song.{{cite web|title=Falling wins Best Jazz Song |url=http://www.clouzinemagazine.com/|work=Falling|accessdate=9 September 2017}}

In 2017, Sanborn appeared on the World music album, A Musical Journey: Together in Peace, which reached Billboard #1 in World albums. The project, created by Rupam Sarmah and Kevin Mackie, is a collaborative effort to promote global peace.{{cite web|title=Together in Peace|url=http://rupamsarmah.net/together-in-peace|accessdate=3 November 2017}}

The composer and vocalist is a strong believer in creating new jazz music for the modern era. Sanborn says, "Instead of regurgitating old standards, we need to keep the jazz genre alive by releasing fresh music for new generations. Write new standards, and stop relying on old music to pave the way for any positive changes in jazz. There is an important place in jazz for the old songs that have touched listeners for decades, but if we wish to reach new and broader markets, we need to move forward – and not exist solely in the past. Miles Davis, if he were here today, would be shocked that jazz music has not moved further ahead by now."{{cite web|title=Kathy Sanborn Interview on Jazz Blues News|date=12 January 2017 |url=http://jazzbluesnews.space/2018/01/12/kathy-sanborn//together-in-peace|accessdate=29 January 2018}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.kathysanborn.com Official Website]
• [http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/kathysanborn All About Jazz Bio]
• [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/kathy-sanborn-mn0001597299 Kathy Sanborn at All Music]

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