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Saunders was born on November 10, 1955, in San Francisco, California.[3] Saunders' father, keyboardist Merl Saunders, introduced him to music at a young age. Saunders began singing at the age of five and was playing the piano by eight.[4] He received one of his first piano lessons from Herbie Hancock and was taught by Sly Stone, who gave him an organ when he was ten.[5] When Saunders was 14, he began playing the bass.[6]
Saunders earned the first of his two Emmys at 14 by collaborating with his father, Merl, on the PBS documentary Soul Is[12].[citation needed] By age 17, he played with Merl and Jerry Garcia on their collaborations.[13] Saunders earned his second Emmy for an episode of Digital Journey titled "China: The Digital Economy".[14]
Career
Saunders began playing with his father, Merl, and Jerry Garcia, becoming a featured musician in Merl Saunders & Aunt Monk, when he was 17 years old. Later, Saunders played in the original Rainforest Band and recorded all of his father's projects. Bassists Chuck Rainey, Jack Casady, and John Kahn were interested in Saunders's musical ability. Kahn introduced Saunders to the music of James Jamerson, and Saunders modeled his playing around all of his teachers. His other influences include Stanley Clarke, Alphonso Johnson, Rufus Reid, Ralphe Armstrong, and Marcus Miller. Anthony Davis and Lee Miles encouraged Saunders to play bass guitar full-time.[15]
Saunders has scored movies, corporate videos, TV shows, commercials, and produced numerous CDs, primarily at his studio, Studio 1281.[16] He composed the music for the stage play Zetta, which was performed in San Francisco by the American Conservatory Theater, and assumed the role of musical director for the show. He was the musical director of Rock Justice, written by Bob Heyman and Marty Balin of Jefferson Starship.[8]
Artists collaborating with him on projects have included Nils, Jeff Lorber, Paul Brown, Gail Johnson, Jeff Ryan, Marion Meadows, Mavis Staples, John Lee Hooker, and Austin "Auggie" Brown, the nephew of Michael Jackson (Auggie's project was later sold to Midas Records). Saunders was hired as a staff producer for San Francisco Records, having previously worked for the label's president Ron Umile, when he was at Associated Booking in New York. Umile hired Saunders to work with Martha Reeves, Randy Crawford, and others. Saunders' first solo album, Bigger than Outside, was released in October 2011.
His second album, Appaloosa, was released on January 22, 2014, featuring Grammy award-winners Howard Hewett, Bill Champlin, and Tony Lindsay on vocals, along with seven instrumentals and six vocal songs. Tom Politzer (from Tower of Power) and Rock Hendricks (from Paul Hardcastle's Jazzmasters series) also performed saxophone on the CD. Long-time friends of Saunders, Fred Ross and Sakai, who were background singers with the rock band Train, also sing on the duet "The Question Is".[17]
Saunders' third album for San Francisco Records, titled Uptown Jazz, featured Gabriel Mark Hasselbach, Rock Hendricks, Sakai, Paul Hardcastle Jr., and Gerald Albright. Saunders' single "Rock Steady" was a cover of The Whispers' 1980s hit and was produced in Atlanta by Magic Mendez. Harmony Blackwell, The Whispers' programmer/background vocalist, and Mendez sang the vocals, with Mendez laying all the music tracks. Nils and Saunders played the lead lines to the song written by Babyface.[18]
Saunders studied under choir director Leon Patillo. He met the Hawkins family when he was 14 and credits them with not only inspiring him to play the bass, but also with providing him with spiritual guidance. He played with Walter Hawkins, Edwin Hawkins, and the Love Center Choir in the 1980s, and released He Lifted Me Up, his first gospel project, in 2005. Other gospel artists Saunders has played with include Andrae Crouch, the Clark Sisters, Reverend James Moore, Daryl Coley, James Cleveland, the Williams Brothers, The Mighty Clouds Of Joy, and Shirley Caesar. He completed a gospel project that featured Derrick Hughes, Alfreda Lyons-Campbell, and Saunders' long-time friend, gospel bassist/drummer Joel Smith (Walter and Ed's nephew).[citation needed]
Saunders won a Telly Award in 2022 for the video "Black Lives Matter", which he co-authored with Nona Brown. Saunders has also received two Emmy Awards. He won the New York Film Festival's Grand and Silver Awards for educational compositions.[8]
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