CLICK HERE if you are having trouble viewing these photos on a mobile device.
Contemporary jazz superstar Dave Koz is heading back to the Bay Area for two shows this summer.
The platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated saxophonist will be joined by talented Friends Gerald Albright on saxophone, Rick Braun on trumpet, Kenny Lattimore on vocals, Aubrey Logan on trombone and vocals and Adam Hawley on guitar.
First up, Dave Koz and Friends perform July 20 at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Show time is 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $29.50-$69.50, www.mountainwinery.com.
Then Koz and crew headline the Concord Jazz Festival at the Concord Pavilion on Aug. 3. The star-studded event, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the festival, also features Esperanza Spalding; Chick Corea Spanish Heart Band; the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra featuring Patti Austin, Jamison Ross, Carmen Bradford and special guests in a special Celebrating Ella set; and Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band.
Show time is 4 p.m. and tickets are $39.50-$149.50, www.livenation.com.
I recently had the chance to chat with the Southern California superstar, who is out on the road supporting the latest Dave Koz and Friends’ offering – “Summer Horns II From A to Z” – which follows the first “Summer Horns” album of 2013.
Q: Hi, Dave. Nice to chat with you again. Please bring us up to speed on the “Summer Horns II” project.
A: The first “Summer Horns,” going back to 2013, was all saxophones. This time we retooled a little bit, because Mindi Abair was part of the original lineup and she was not able to do it this time.
So, we took that as an opportunity to stretch it into more brass repertoire and have a full horn section with the addition of Rick Braun and Aubrey Logan. This allowed us to take on a little bit more of that repertoire that maybe wouldn’t have fit on that first saxophone-centric album.
Q: As a musician, it must be very appealing to work in an all-star ensemble like this Summer Horns outfit.
A: All five of us (in the band) — thankfully, gratefully — have successful solo careers. But we all grew up as ensemble players, playing in a sax section or a brass section in a big band or concert band. Even though you can go into a situation where you are playing the lead melody and being the soloist, that kind of ensemble playing — being part of a section — never leaves you, especially when it’s there at the beginning and it gets into your blueprint.
So, I think what this project really does for the musicians and artists who are attracted to it is that it is a chance to be part of a section. When you get everyone moving in the same direction with the same phrasing — and you get incredible arrangers like Tom Scott and Greg Adams and Courtney Goodwin writing these notes for us to play, where five people playing a chord sounds like 50 people — it’s just so much fun.
Honestly, that’s just the appeal of this for me. I just love playing in a horn section.
Q: And when you’re traveling with this kind of talent, the possibilities for what you can do onstage must seem endless.
A: Right now, I’m pulling my hair out, because we’re trying to figure out what to do and which songs to play. Of course, we have the “Summer Horns” material, which we’re culling from both of those albums.
That’s a fun thing to do, because you have so much variety. There’s a song that puts Ellington’s “’A’ Train” together with a song from Jay-Z. You’re talking about two New Yorkers from different eras, with two horn section songs. We mashed them together in the studio and it works so beautifully in concert as well.
Crusaders; Earth, Wind & Fire; James Brown; Tower of Power; Blood, Sweat & Tears — this is the music that we all grew up listening to, loving and wanting to play. And here we have the opportunity to play it.
Q: And Bay Area fans will get the opportunity to experience when you perform at the Mountain Winery. You have a pretty long history with that venue, right?
A: I do. I have been coming up to the Mountain Winery for years. That was one of our first gigs — going way back. That is such a special place to see a show. I think it’s one of the greatest venues in America. It might not be that easy to get up there. But once you get up there, you never want to leave.
Q: A couple weeks after the Mountain Winery gig, you’ll be back with your Summer Horns tour to headline the Concord Jazz Festival, in celebration of the event’s 50th anniversary.
A: Very excited about that one. Very special event, particularly for all the people who are there and for Concord and for Concord Pavilion — which is a place that I have been so many times. But I haven’t been in quite a number of years, so this will be a nice way to come back.
Q: So, you use to play the Concord Jazz Festival on a regular basis? (Note: The last festival was held in 2004.)
A: We use to play it pretty much — if not every year, at least every other year.
I remember that there was one particularly memorable year. I believe it was 1993, because that was the year my niece was born. She was the first niece that was born in my family. The day she was born, we were playing up in Concord.
I wanted to memorialize this for her — her name is Taylor — so I just stopped my show in the middle of it and said, “Look, I want to share some really exciting news — My first niece was born earlier today. I just want to show her that we celebrated her arrival on the planet.”
So, I took a picture of the entire audience going crazy and waving to Taylor. Years later, when she was old enough to understand, I gave the picture to her.
