David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the ...

saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Early life

Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologist and Audrey, a pharmacist. Dave has a brother, Jeff, who is also a musician, and a sister, Roberta. Although he is Jewish, Koz plays both Christmas and occasional Hanukkah songs at his concerts. 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 The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

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 deciding to be a professional musician, he was recruited as a member of

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the ...

's tour. Koz was originally a rock saxophonist before he moved to smooth jazz in 1989. For the rest of the 1980s, Koz served as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

in several rock bands, and toured with

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for ''Prototype'' ...

. Koz was a member of rock musician

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, " D ...

's band and toured with Marx throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, which was around the time he recurred as the guest saxophonist on the syndicated late-night talk show ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...

''. He also played in the house band of CBS' short-lived ''

The Pat Sajak Show ''The Pat Sajak Show'' was an American late-night television talk show that aired on CBS from January 9, 1989, to April 13, 1990. Cast The show was hosted by Pat Sajak, best known as host of the game show '' Wheel of Fortune''. To do the talk ...

'', with Tom Scott as bandleader. In 1989, Koz decided to pursue a solo career, and began recording for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

. His albums there include '' Dave Koz'' (his 1990 solo debut), '' Lucky Man'', '' The Dance'', and ''

Saxophonic ''Saxophonic'' is the seventh studio album by saxophone player Dave Koz. It was released by Capitol Records on October 7, 2003. The album peaked at number 2 on Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Track listing Personnel * Dave Koz – alto saxopho ...

''. ''Saxophonic'' was nominated for both a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

and an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

. 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 ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...

'' 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 Hospitals 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 Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

, ''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

station in Los Angeles for six years. He decided to leave the show in January 2007 and was replaced by

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

. In 2002, Koz started a record label, Rendezvous Entertainment, with

Frank Cody Francis R. Cody (born June 13, 1948) is an American record producer, A&R and radio executive. Described by the ''R&R Magazine'' and '' The New York Times'' as ''"Smooth Jazz's Leading Alchemist"'' and ''"The Father of Smooth Jazz"'', Backgrou ...

and Hyman Katz. Wayman Tisdale & Dave Koz

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. Koz interviews musicians on the show such as

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during Apa ...

, and Kelly Sweet. At the end of each interview, he plays along with the musician, adding some of his saxophone

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

s 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 Philippe Saisse is a French jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and arranger. Career He was born in Marseille and raised in Paris. After studying at the Conservatoire de Paris he won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Mus ...

(keyboards), Conrad Korsch (bass guitar), and

Skoota Warner Ra is an American alternative metal band from Los Angeles, taking their name from the Ra, Egyptian sun god, Ra. The band was formed in 1996, and took off around 2002, when their song "Do You Call My Name" from their album ''From One'' was relea ...

(drums). Koz hosts a weekly radio show on the Sirius-XM Radio

Watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

channel called "The Dave Koz Lounge," which airs Sundays at noon ET. Koz plays a Yamaha silver alto sax (YAS-62S Mk. I) 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 VI Tenor sax with a Berg-Larsen 90/2 hard rubber mouthpiece. As for reeds, he uses a No. 3 Rico Plasticover. Koz occasionally plays keyboards and piano, with which he also composes his songs. On September 22, 2009, Koz received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

. In October 2010, Koz performed "Start All Over Again" in a ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a t ...

'' season 7 episode " Let Me Entertain You", alongside singer Dana Glover. In July 2012, he appeared on ''

The Eric André Show ''The Eric Andre Show'' is an American surreal sketch comedy television series which began airing on May 20, 2012. The show premiered on Adult Swim and is a parody of late night talk shows. The series is hosted by comedian Eric André and formerl ...

'', season 1 episode 7, and sat in with the house band. 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 Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

with business partners Cary Hardwick and Laurie Sisneros, who own Spaghettini in Seal Beach. In 2018, Koz collaborated with guitarist and regular

Vulfpeck Vulfpeck is an American funk band founded in 2011 by Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss and Joe Dart. The band has released four extended plays, five studio albums and a live album, having released all of their music independently. The band ...

contributor,

Cory Wong Cory Wong (born c. 1985) is a Grammy-nominated American guitarist, bassist, songwriter, podcast-host, and producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has released many works as a solo artist and in partnership with others. His background spa ...

, on two tracks, "The Optimist" and "Friends at Sea". The two collaborated again in 2021 for the album ''The Golden Hour'', including the single "Today". In 2022, Koz collaborated with singer-songwriter Ben Rector on the track "Supernatural" from Rector's album '' The Joy of Music''.

Personal life

In an April 2004 interview with '' The Advocate'', Koz came out publicly as gay. He has been a resident of Sausalito, California since 1990.

Discography

Solo studio albums *'' Dave Koz'' (1990) *'' Lucky Man'' (1993) *'' Off the Beaten Path'' (1996) *'' December Makes Me Feel This Way'' (1997) *'' The Dance'' (1999) *'' A Smooth Jazz Christmas'' (2001) *''Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby'' (2002) *''

'' (2003 *''Golden Slumbers: A Father's Love'' (2005) *'' At the Movies'' (2007) *'' Memories of a Winter's Night'' (2007) *'' Hello Tomorrow'' (2010) *''Ultimate Christmas'' (2011) *''Dave Koz and Friends: Summer Horns'' (2013) *''Rest'' (2014) *''Dave Koz & Friends: The 25th of December'' (2014) *''Dave Koz and Friends: 20th Anniversary Christmas'' (2017) *''Dave Koz and Friends: Summer Horns II From A to Z'' (2018) *''Gifts of the Season'' (2019) *''A New Day'' (2020) *''A Romantic Night In (The Love Songs Album)'' (2021) with Cory Wong *''The Golden Hour'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Dave Koz official websiteNAMM Oral History Interview, January 22, 2005
Dave Koz reflects on discovering his love for the saxophone. {{DEFAULTSORT:Koz, Dave 1963 births 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American saxophonists American jazz alto saxophonists American jazz baritone saxophonists American jazz soprano saxophonists American jazz tenor saxophonists American rock saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz keyboardists American rock musicians American radio personalities Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists EMI Records artists American gay musicians Jazz musicians from California Jewish American musicians Jewish jazz musicians LGBT Jews LGBT people from California Living people American male jazz musicians Musicians from Los Angeles People from Encino, Los Angeles Rock saxophonists Smooth jazz saxophonists William Howard Taft Charter High School alumni 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American Jews