Saxophonist David Sanborn, one of jazz's most respected and influential players, has switched from his longtime home of Elektra Entertainment to the Verve Music Group, where he will record for the Verve imprint. The new contract calls for three albums with an option for three more discs.

Sanborn says his decision to leave Elektra was a mutual one between him and the label. "The nature of our business has changed significantly in the last five to six years," he says. "I don't think what I was doing -- and where I wanted to go -- was compatible any longer with what Elektra was after as a label. There were a lot of great people there. I'll miss them."

The move to Verve reunites Sanborn with Verve Music Group chairman Tommy LiPuma, who produced many of Sanborn's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful projects while both were at Warner Bros.

Sanborn first came to prominence working with artists like David Bowie and Stevie Wonder, and launched his solo career with 1975's "Taking Off." His most recent album, "Inside," peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz albums chart in May 1999.

Verve Music Group president Ron Goldstein says the label has been talking with Sanborn in terms of direction for his next album. "For the A&R standpoint, we've talked about doing a Latin record, going to Miami," he says. "We've talked about doing something more soulful. It's a matter of coming up with the right idea and executing it well without sacrificing artistry."