Jazz review: David Sanborn, Here & Gone

Soulfulness is a slippery concept. Too often it's a synonym for empty emotion, a cloak worn to hide the absence of feeling. Saxophonist David Sanborn can do slickness when required (remember Bowie's Young Americans?) but he's old and jazzwise enough to understand real soul. On St Louis Blues, he does an amazing job of channelling the spirit of altoist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (who added an essential dimension of soul to Kind of Blue). Sanborn adapts the spine-chilling Gil Evans arrangement of this jazz classic and even quotes directly from Adderley. It works magnificently because Sanborn's sincere, and he's paid his dues. It's tough for the rest of the album to maintain the standard set by this opener, but there are suberb moments, including a tender version of Basin Street Blues, and guest appearances by Sam Moore and Derek Trucks.