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 19 ...

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

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Early life

Dave Koz was born in

Encino, California Encino (Spanish language, Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north t ...

, 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 Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, 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 St ...

with a degree in

mass communications Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

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 music, adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's Richard Marx (album), self-titled debut album went tri ...

'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 CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' 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 sh ...

'', 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 note ...

. His albums there include ''

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

'' (his 1990 solo debut), '' Lucky Man'', '' The Dance'', and '' Saxophonic''. ''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 pres ...

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 ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

'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 list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' 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, ''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 Rendezvous Music (formerly known as Rendezvous Entertainment) is a record label founded by multiple-Grammy Award nominee and RIAA Certified Gold recording artist Dave Koz, radio entrepreneur Frank Cody and music business veteran Hyman Katz in 200 ...

, 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"'', Background ...

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 re ...

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 Ap ...

, and

Kelly Sweet Kelly Melissa Sweet (born March 29, 1988), also known professionally as Haliene (; stylized as HALIENE), is an American singer of electropop and electronic dance music. She is known for her vocal collaborations with EDM artists Armin van Buuren ...

. 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 accompani ...

s to one of their hit songs. Koz was also the bandleader on ''

The Emeril Lagasse Show ''The Emeril Lagasse Show'' is a weekly talk show starring Emeril Lagasse. It aired on Sundays at 5:00PM Eastern on Ion Television. The program originally premiered on April 18, 2010, airing at 8:00PM. The announcement of the show was made by ...

''. The band, ''Dave Koz & The Kozmos'', featured

Jeff Golub Jeff Golub (April 15, 1955 – January 1, 2015) was an American jazz guitarist who had a solo career and who led the band Avenue Blue. He worked as a sideman for a number of rock and pop musicians. He was arguably best known for his work with Rod ...

(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 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 released ...

(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, Californ ...

. 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 Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

'' 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 forme ...

'', 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. B ...

with business partners Cary Hardwick and Laurie Sisneros, who own Spaghettini in

Seal Beach Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the w ...

. 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 ba ...

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 spans ...

, 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 Benjamin Evans Rector (born November 6, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has released seven studio albums, including '' Brand New'' (2015), which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' ...

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 ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. He has been a resident of Sausalito, California since 1990.

Discography

Solo studio albums *''

'' (1990) *'' Lucky Man'' (1993) *''

Off the Beaten Path ''Off the Beaten Path'' is the third studio album by saxophone player Dave Koz. It was released by Capitol Records on August 20, 1996. Koz himself provides vocals on "That's the Way I Feel About You." Track listing Personnel * Dave Koz – ...

'' (1996) *'' December Makes Me Feel This Way'' (1997) *'' The Dance'' (1999) *'' A Smooth Jazz Christmas'' (2001) *''Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby'' (2002) *'' Saxophonic'' (2003 *''Golden Slumbers: A Father's Love'' (2005) *'' At the Movies'' (2007) *'' Memories of a Winter's Night'' (2007) *''

Hello Tomorrow {{about, , the Dave Koz album, Hello Tomorrow (album), the Apple TV+ series, Hello Tomorrow! ''Hello Tomorrow'' is the title of a 2005 Adidas television advertisement, and also the name of the song used in the commercial. The 90-second spot was cre ...

'' (2010) *''Ultimate Christmas'' (2011) *''Dave Koz and Friends:

Summer Horns ''Summer Horns'' is a collaboration album by Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair and Richard Elliot. It was released on May 7, 2013 via Concord Records. The album was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 56th Annual ...

'' (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