Dave Koz
| Dave Koz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born |
March 27, 1963 Tarzana, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Smooth jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Saxophone |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | Capitol, EMI, Rendezvous, Concord |
| Associated acts | Bobby Caldwell, David Sanborn |
| Website |
www |
David S. "Dave" Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist.
Early life
Dave Koz was born on March 27, 1963 in Encino, California to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologist and, Audrey Koz, a pharmacist. Dave has a brother, Jeff, who is also a musician, and a sister, Roberta.[1] Although he is Jewish, Koz plays both Christmas and occasional Hanukkah songs at his concerts.[2][3] He attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California performing on saxophone as a member of the school jazz band. He later graduated from UCLA with a degree in mass communications in 1986, and only weeks after his graduation, decided to make a go of becoming a professional musician.
Career
Within weeks of that decision, he was recruited as a member of Bobby Caldwell's tour. For the rest of the 1980s, Koz served as a session musician in several bands, toured with Jeff Lorber. Koz was a member of Richard Marx's band and toured with Marx throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. He also played in the house band of CBS' short-lived The Pat Sajak Show, with Tom Scott as bandleader.[4] He also often guest-starred as the saxophone player on The Arsenio Hall Show in the 1980s to mid 1990s.
In 1990, Koz decided to pursue a solo career, and began recording for Capitol Records. His albums there include Dave Koz (his 1990 solo debut), Lucky Man, The Dance, and Saxophonic. Saxophonic was nominated for both a Grammy Award and an NAACP Image Award.
Koz released his second album, Lucky Man, in 1993. During production of the album in 1992, Koz was approached by the producers of ABC's General Hospital to perform on the show after his track entitled "Emily", from his Dave Koz album, was used as part of the show's soundtrack that year. After his GH appearance, executive producer Wendy Riche commissioned Koz to write a new theme song for the soap. Koz took elements from the show's existing theme song, Jack Urbont's "Autumn Breeze", and merged the chorus notes into a brand new smooth jazz composition titled "Faces of the Heart". The new theme music made its debut on General Hospital's 30th anniversary show, which aired April 1, 1993, and remained as the show's title track until August 27, 2004. "Faces of the Heart" ended up as the third track on Koz's Lucky Man album.
In 1994, Koz began hosting a syndicated radio program, The Dave Koz Radio Show (formerly Personal Notes), featuring the latest music and interviews with who's who in the genre. Dave co-hosted The Dave Koz Morning Show on 94.7 The Wave, a smooth jazz station in Los Angeles for six years. He decided to leave the show in January 2007 and was replaced by Brian McKnight. In 2002, Koz started a record label, Rendezvous Entertainment, with Frank Cody and Hyman Katz.[5]
In 2006, Koz was selected to host a syndicated afternoon show for Broadcast Architecture's new Smooth Jazz Network. The show, based in Los Angeles, is broadcast on other Smooth Jazz stations across the country. Koz and Ramsey Lewis are the only two Smooth Jazz personalities to host two different syndicated shows during the week. Capitol Records/EMI's "Forever Cool" (2007) features Koz in a new arrangement of "Just in Time" with the voice of the late Dean Martin.
Koz has promoted annual Dave Koz & Friends Jazz Cruises since 2005.
Koz is the host of a weekly half-hour television series named Frequency put on by Fast Focus.[6] Koz interviews musicians on the show such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Jonathan Butler, and Kelly Sweet. At the end of each interview, he plays along with the musician, adding some of his saxophone riffs to one of their hit songs.
Koz was also the bandleader on The Emeril Lagasse Show. The band, Dave Koz & The Kozmos, featured Jeff Golub (guitar), Philippe Saisse (keyboards), Conrad Korsch (bass guitar), and Skoota Warner (drums).[7][8][9]
Koz plays a Yamaha silver alto sax (YAS-62S) with a No. 7 Beechler metal mouthpiece, a Yamaha straight silver Soprano sax (YSS-62S) or a vintage Conn curved soprano sax with a No. 8 Couf mouthpiece, and a Selmer Mark 6 Tenor sax with a Berg-Larsen 90/2 hard rubber mouthpiece. As for reeds, he uses a No. 3 Rico Plasticover.[10]
On September 22, 2009, Koz received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[11]
In October 2010, Koz performed "Start All Over Again" in a Desperate Housewives season 7 episode "Let Me Entertain You", alongside singer Dana Glover. In July 2012, he appeared on the The Eric André Show, season 1 episode 7, and sat in with the house band.[12]
In December 2014, he opened Spaghettini & the Dave Koz Lounge, a restaurant and live music venue located at 184 North Canon Drive in Beverly Hills, California with business partners Cary Hardwick and Laurie Sisneros, who own Spaghettini in Seal Beach.[13][14]
Personal life
In an April 2004 interview with The Advocate, Koz came out publicly as gay.[15][16]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot 200 [17] |
Jazz [17] | ||
| 1990 | Dave Koz | 129 | |
| 1993 | Lucky Man | 176 | — |
| 1996 | Off the Beaten Path | 182 | — |
| Live in Trinidad | — | — | |
| 1997 | December Makes Me Feel This Way | — | |
| 1999 | The Dance [A] | 190 | 3 |
| 2001 | A Smooth Jazz Christmas [B] | 140 | 3 |
| 2002 | Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby | — | — |
| 2003 | Saxophonic (2003) | — | 2 |
| 2005 | Golden Slumbers: A Father's Love | — | — |
| 2007 | At the Movies | 86 | 2 |
| Memories of a Winter's Night | — | 7 | |
| 2008 | Masterpiece | — | — |
| 2008 | Greatest Hits | 184 | 3 |
| 2010 | Hello Tomorrow | 104 | 1 |
| 2013 | Live at the Blue Note Tokyo | ||
| Dave Koz & Friends – Summer Horns | 84 | 3 | |
| 2014 | The 25th Of December | — | — |
| 2015 | Collaborations: 25th Anniversary Collection | 187 | 1 |
- A. "The Dance" also peaked at No. 67 on Billboard's Rhythm & Blues/Hip Hop Albums.
- B. "Smooth Jazz Christmas" also peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Holiday Albums.
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions[18] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Adult Contemporary | Jazz | ||
| 1990 | "Emily" | — | — | — |
| 1991 | "Castle of Dreams" | — | 13 | — |
| "Nothing But the Radio On" | — | 20 | — | |
| 1993 | "You Make Me Smile" | — | 20 | — |
| "Faces of the Heart (ABC Daytime's General Hospital Theme Song) | — | — | — | |
| 1994 | "Lucky Man" | — | — | — |
| 1999 | "Together Again" | — | — | — |
| 2000 | "Careless Whisper" (featuring Montell Jordan) | — | — | 30 |
| "Know You by Heart" | — | — | 26 | |
| 2006 | "Somewhere/Summer of '42" | — | — | — |
| 2007 | "The Pink Panther Theme" | — | — | 27 |
| "It Might Be You" | — | — | — | |
| "White Christmas" | — | — | 22 | |
| 2008 | "Life in the Fast Lane" | — | — | 1 |
| "White Christmas" (rechart) | — | — | 14 | |
| 2010 | "And Then I Knew" | — | — | 13 |
| "Put The Top Down" | — | — | 1 | |
| 2011 | "Starting Over Again" | — | — | 1 |
| "Anything's Possible" | — | — | 1 | |
Compilation appearances
- The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz, (2007)
- Taro Gold The Diamond You, (2008)
References
- ↑ Ford, Dave (August 20, 2004). "Record exec, radio star and smooth-jazz man. Dave Koz now settles into his newest groove: being an out gay man". sfgate.com. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ↑ Akamatsu, Rhetta (November 27, 2011). "Concert Review: Dave Koz and Friends Christmas, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, Atlanta, GA11/25/11". seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ↑ Condran, Ed (November 28, 2013). "Dave Koz brings Christmas spirit to Durham". newsobserver.com. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ↑ Pack A Picnic And Head For Ste. Michelle's Big Outdoor Concert, The Seattle Times, June 28, 1991
- ↑ Heffley, Lynne (September 26, 2002). "'Family' CD Puts Them to Sleep; 'Golden Slumber,' lullabies from Dave Koz and his smooth-jazz collaborators, is the first release on his new record label". The Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "Frequency – Hosted by Dave Koz". fastfocus.tv. Public Television Media. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ↑ "Television: Emeril Lagasse and Dave Koz". March 22, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
- ↑ Aubrey Everett (March 4, 2010). "Dave Koz and Emeril Team Up on TV". JazzTimes. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ↑ "Dave Koz & The Kozmos" (PDF). Retrieved May 10, 2010.
- ↑ Vail, Greg. "What the Pros Play – Saxophonist Dave Koz". Woodwind & Brasswind. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ↑ Steele, Bruce (September 22, 2009). "Koz Celeb". The Advocate. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ↑ "The Eric André Show, Season 1, Episode 7, 'J-Moe'". Amazon. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ↑ Matt Lopez, 'Spaghettini Beverly Hills Set To Open With Performance By Santana's Andy Vargas', TheBeverly Hills Courier, December 5, 2014, Volume XXXXVIIII, Number 48, p. 4
- ↑ Spaghettini & the Dave Koz Lounge Beverly Hills
- ↑ "Koz Celeb". The Advocate. September 22, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
his first CD of all-new, original material since he came out in The Advocate in 2004
- ↑ Vary, Adam B. (April 27, 2004). "Just Koz: Smooth-Jazz Golden Boy Dave Koz Comes Out-Fresh off His Adventurous New Album, Saxophonic". The Advocate – via Questia (subscription required) . Retrieved August 21, 2013.
Credibility is one of the main reasons why I feel like now is the time to bring [my sexuality] to my music, to my professional life.... I couldn't actually be who I really was, and I went along with it for a long time, until it was just too much to take, and I couldn't deal with that anymore.
- 1 2 "Billboard chart positions > albums". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
- ↑ "Dave Koz Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dave Koz. |
- Dave Koz official website
- NAMM Oral History Interview, January 22, 2005 Dave Koz reflects on discovering his love for the saxophone.