Directly following his adventurous Another Hand, some listeners were disappointed with the fact that David Sanborn did not permanently switch from R&B/crossover to creative jazz.
However, Upfront is generally quite appealing and takes some chances within its genre.
Although bassist Marcus Miller is once again an important collaborator, the emphasis is on "real" instruments, most notably the organ of Ricky Peterson.
Other musicians in the backup groups include John Purcell on various reeds, trumpeter Randy Brecker, drummer Steve Jordan and guest Eric Clapton, who takes a guitar solo on "Full House." The most unusual selection is the final cut, a version of Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin'" that finds Sanborn, Miller, Peterson and Jordan joined by the avant-garde trumpeter Herb Robertson.
Overall, this is an above-average effort from the highly influential altoist.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BennyMarcus Miller | David Sanborn | Play | 05:46 | 13 MB | 34 MB |
| 2 | CrossfireMarcus Miller, David Sanborn | David Sanborn | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 3 | Full HouseMarcus Miller, David Sanborn | David Sanborn | Play | 06:54 | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| 4 | Soul SerenadeKing Curtis, Luther Dixon | David Sanborn | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | HeySteven "Steven J." Jordan, Marcus Miller, Ricky Peterson, David Sanborn | David Sanborn | Play | 08:27 | 19 MB | 58 MB |
| 6 | Bang BangJoe Cuba, Jimmy Sabater | David Sanborn | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | AlcazarMarcus Miller, David Sanborn | David Sanborn | Play | 07:29 | 17 MB | 43 MB |
| 8 | Ramblin'Ornette Coleman | David Sanborn | Play | 08:01 | 18 MB | 50 MB |
| 51 mins | 116 MB | |||||
| 51 mins | 323 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Albert | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 2 | Chris Alberts | Vocals |
| 3 | Don Alias | Congas, Percussion, Vocals |
| 4 | Becky Anderson | Vocals |
| 5 | Dave Bargeron | Trombone, Tuba |
| 6 | Art Baron | Trombone |
| 7 | Randy Brecker | Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 8 | Susan Brown-Silag | Vocals |
| 9 | Chris Bruce | Guitar |
| 10 | Hiram Bullock | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 11 | Steve Byram | Artwork, Design |
| 12 | Barry Campbell | Vocals |
| 13 | Shannon Carr | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 14 | Manny Castillo | Vocals |
| 15 | Crispin Cioe | Sax (Baritone) |
| 16 | Eric Clapton | Guest Artist, Guitar, Soloist |
| 17 | Ornette Coleman | Composer |
| 18 | Joe Cuba | Composer |
| 19 | Luther Dixon | Composer |
| 20 | Cornell Dupree | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 21 | Joe Ferla | Engineer, Mixing |
| 22 | Steve Ferrone | Vocals |
| 23 | Laurie Frink | Trumpet |
| 24 | Bob Funk | Trombone |
| 25 | Ava Gardner | Vocals |
| 26 | Earl Gardner | Trumpet |
| 27 | Lynn Goldsmith | Portraits |
| 28 | Bibi Green | Production Coordination, Vocals |
| 29 | Stan Harrison | Sax (Alto) |
| 30 | Steve Harrison | Sax (Alto) |
| 31 | Arno Hecht | Sax (Tenor) |
| 32 | Steve Jordan | Drums, Timbales, Vocals |
| 33 | Steven "Steven J." Jordan | Composer |
| 34 | King Curtis | Composer |
| 35 | Robert Lewis | Photography |
| 36 | Tommy LiPuma | Vocals |
| 37 | Paul Litterall | Trumpet |
| 38 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 39 | Jason Miles | Programming |
| 40 | Marcus Miller | Arranger, Bass, Clarinet (Bass), Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Bass), Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Producer, Vocals |
| 41 | William Patterson | Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals, Wah Wah Guitar |
| 42 | Ricky Peterson | Composer, Organ (Hammond), Piano |
| 43 | Lenny Pickett | Arranger, Horn Arrangements, Sax (Tenor) |
| 44 | John Purcell | Flute (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Saxello, Saxophone |
| 45 | Herb Robertson | Trumpet |
| 46 | Jimmy Sabater | Composer |
| 47 | David Sanborn | Composer, Primary Artist, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano), Sopranino, Vocals |
| 48 | Art Smith | Drum Technician |
| 49 | Richard Tee | Organ (Hammond) |
| 50 | Uptown Horns | Arranger, Horn Arrangements |
| 51 | Naná Vasconcelos | Percussion |
| 52 | Michael White | Assistant Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |