Double Vision Revisited: David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, and Bob James – August 5th – Denver Botanic Gardens

This past Monday the Denver Botanic Gardens morphed into a beautiful outdoor Jazz club as it played host to a supergroup featuring David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, and Bob James (dubbed Double Vision Revisited) and Denver’s own Django Reinhardt inspired LAPOMPE.  While the day was hot, the evening cooled off just enough to be comfortable and a nice bottle of rose did the rest. 

LAPOMPE took the stage promptly at 6:30 and the four piece string band delivered an eclectic set that leaned heavily on Reinhardt’s guitar stylings but also featured and dazzling original entitled “Bossa in B” and an inspired cover of Taj Mahal’s 1968 gem “Diving Duck Blues.”  The crowd was clearly loving what they were hearing and when the band announced their final song, “Caravan Stomp,” there was an audible “awwww” from the crowd which prompted lead singer David Lawrence to let the Gardens faithful know that they play at Union Station every Tuesday at 7pm.

It wasn’t long before David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, and Bob James were making their way down the hill to the stage to the delight of the crowd.  Miller vamped on the bass for a few minutes as he grinned and let the audience know that Sanborn was “not quite ready yet” but when the legendary Sax player took the stage the crowd showered him with love.

Early in the set the group dusted off the James, Sanborn penned “Moon Tune” and I sat there thinking that relaxing in a garden on a summer evening with a glass of rose is the perfect situation to have this kind of music wash over you.  At one point during the performance James seemed to brush off the “Smooth Jazz” label often placed on albums like Double Vision by saying that when they were recording it the term that was used was “New Age.”  This got some chuckles from the crowd, and then the group invited former Tower of Power lead singer Larry Braggs to the stage for a take on Eddy Arnold’s “You Don’t Know Me” (a tune made popular by the late, great Ray Charles).  Braggs showed of his vocal prowess and promised to return later in the show for more.

In a move that thrilled some hardcore fans in the audience, the group showcased a version of “Mister Magic,” a Grover Washington Jr. tune that James recently rearranged for this project.  The cover got a few people dancing as Miller got downright funky on the bass, in the way that only he can, and drummer Billy Kilson managed to break the head of his snare but keep right on playing! 

“It’s You” was a return to the smooth jazz and featured an intro from Sanborn that riffed on his penchant for writing songs for women and then breaking up with them.  He joked that he solved it all by writing “It’s You” which allowed him to tell anyone he was dating that the song was about them.  Sure it’s a little cheesy, but there’s no doubt that these cats are at the top of their game and while “Smooth Jazz” or “New Age” aren’t usually in my wheelhouse, this was a great night at the Gardens.